Review: 32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter

32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter
Women's Fiction/Chick Lit
Amistad (June 22, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0061957840
352 pages
Review copy provided by the publisher

Synopsis from Amazon:

32 Candles is the slightly twisted, utterly romantic, and deftly wry story of Davie Jones, who, if she doesn’t stand in her own way, just might get the man of her dreams.

Davie—an ugly duckling growing up in small-town Mississippi—is positive her life couldn’t be any worse. She has the meanest mother in the South, possibly the world, and on top of that, she’s pretty sure she’s ugly. Just when she’s resigned herself to her fate, she sees a movie that will change her life—Sixteen Candles. But in her case, life doesn’t imitate art. Tormented endlessly in school with the nickname "Monkey Night," and hopelessly in unrequited love with a handsome football player, James Farrell, Davie finds that it is bittersweet to dream of Molly Ringwald endings. When a cruel school prank goes too far, Davie leaves the life she knows and reinvents herself in the glittery world of Hollywood—as a beautiful and successful lounge singer in a swanky nightclub.

Davie is finally a million miles from where she started—until she bumps into her former obsession, James Farrell. To Davie’s astonishment, James doesn’t recognize her, and she can’t bring herself to end the fantasy. She lets him fall as deeply in love with her as she once was with him. But is life ever that simple? Just as they’re about to ride off into the sunset, the past comes back with a vengeance, threatening to crush Davie’s dreams—and break her heart again.

With wholly original characters and a cinematic storyline, 32 Candles introduces Ernessa T. Carter, a new voice in fiction with smarts, attitude, and sassiness to spare.

John Hughes's Sixteen Candles has long been a favorite of mine. When I heard that Ernessa Carter's debut novel would be a take on it my initial reaction was elation. Anything Sixteen Candles-related had to be good, right? Then, I started thinking about the few encounters that I've had with re-tellings, adaptations and spin-offs lately. That's when dread entered the picture and caused me to put of reading, for a little while, a novel that I had been itching to get. All of that's to say that Carter has restored my faith in the concept with 32 Candles. It really is one of the best books that I've read this year. I didn't simply enjoy it - I know that I'll return to it, just like how I often return to the film that served as inspiration.

Davie's story immediately drew me in and had me hanging on every word up until the end. Her story is never predictable, largely due to the way that Carter plays with the timeline. Certain crucial events are withheld early on - something that Davie foreshadows up until the reveal - and when it's time for all to come to a head, Carter shows while Davie tells.

None of this outstanding storytelling, however, would mean squat if Davie wasn't a lovable character. The abuse that she suffers early in life is what makes Davie sympathetic, but it's her profound strength that saves her from being pitiable. This isn't to say that she's the most morally upright character in the novel. Despite the fact that she's always worth rooting for, she does some questionable things. No, the most forthright, kind and forgiving character would be her love-interest James. The man isn't perfect but he is perfect for Davie. She knows instantly upon first meeting him that having his love would be the ultimate gift but, in the end, she has to work hard to deserve it. Her so-called "atonement list" (for those previously mentioned deplorable actions) takes a while for her to accomplish and, unfortunately leaving a less than desirable amount of time dedicated to her "Molly Ringwald ending". She is redeemed though and her final scene will definitely resonate with Sixteen Candles fans.

32 Candles is populated with similarly drawn secondary characters. Each one of them is flawed, complex and feels honestly drawn. Their behavior and motivations are shaped by their various circumstances and not simply tacked on to further the plot, though they do that admirably.

Perhaps what I love most, though, about this novel is its voice. Carter touches on things common to the black experience in such a universal way that anyone can understand and enjoy it. It's not a book that will only truly resonate with black people. The narrative is engaging, witty and intelligent and the dialogue manages to be in the appropriate vernaculars for the right characters. There's no overdone colloquialisms and no caricaturing of Southern dialects.

While this novel could be simply classified as "chick lit", it's so much more than that. Davie's story isn't just cute and romantic, but grandly triumphant and I loved every word of it.

Grade: A-/B+

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