Candy by Kevin Brooks: An Innovative Variation on "Boy Meets Girl"

Those of us raised in the U.S. may be unfamiliar with the social and cultural differences of British life, and European lifestyles in general. For that reason, well-written literature can give us the sense of being there without having experienced it. Candy, a young adult book by Kevin Brooks, is one such example.

What's the Story?

Candy is told from the point-of-view of Joe Beck, a fifteen-year-old kid living in a suburb of London, who begins as your primarily innocent, average teenager. While on his way to a doctor's appointment near Liverpool Street, he encounters a beautiful (and dangerous-looking) young woman...the titular "Candy."

Almost immediately, Joe finds himself attracted to her, in no small part because of her physical beauty, but also her ambiance of peril and excitement. The two have a brief conversation, with Candy noting that she likes Joe's hat; Candy then disappears, but Joe, of course, is unable to forget her.

While stopping later at a McDonald's for a quick snack, Joe finds Candy once again, to his surprise; due to his nervousness, Joe drops a large amount of change he's holding, practically losing it in a crowd.

Notwithstanding, they later chat (and possibly flirt) at a table, as Joe explains that he's part of a punk band called The Katies, and plays bass. Unfortunately for Joe, as the two converse, a tall, intimidating black man named Iggy approaches them and menacingly asks, "You paid the girl?"

Despite Candy's attempts to defend him, a frightened Joe flees the scene. Not long after, he puts the pieces together, realizing that Candy must be a prostitute, and Iggy, obviously, her pimp.

Thinking that he's dug himself into a hole, Joe makes a retreat, expecting never to see Candy again. Naturally, as fate would have it, that isn't the case.

As the story unfolds, we also meet Joe's older sister, Gina; his single father, with whom he sometimes struggles to have a relationship; Gina's street-smart boyfriend, Mike; and several others connected to Candy's life.

By the story's end, it's clear just how much of an impact that initial meeting has had on Joe, his personality, and his maturity as an individual.

What's in it for Me? (WARNING: Spoilers!)

Some may feel they've surpassed the point of reading "young adult" fiction once middle school and high school are over. In defense of this category of literature, however, let's say that the best among it manage to convey the feelings and experiences of teenagers very accurately, and remind us of a time in our lives when most of us felt lost, confused, and insecure.

Candy succeeds wholeheartedly in both these areas, creating believable characters and vivid scenarios, while painting Joe Beck's world with emotion, real-life struggles, and relatable conflicts (despite the plot summary sounding somewhat like your average teen romance novel or summer popcorn flick).

A central theme in Candy, which comes across even in the story's opening, is control, or lack thereof. Joe, for instance, feels he has little to no control over his life: his father still stands as the ultimate decision-maker; he has little creative power within his band, despite the fact that, during the story, he writes one of their first hit songs; and once he ultimately falls in love with Candy, he loses what little self-control he has left.

Candy's character, on the other hand, lacks even the small amount of control over her life that Kevin may have. Any money she makes ultimately ends up in the hands of Iggy, and to top it off, she is addicted to heroin, which masters her both physically and mentally.

Sound like a tragedy to you? Tragedy is, according to student Ramón Paredes in his research paper "Aristotle's Definition of Tragedy," "...the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in language with pleasurable accessories, each kind brought in separately in the parts of the work; in a dramatic, not in a narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions," using a definition from Aristotle's Art of Poetry: A Greek View of Poetry and Drama.

Aristotle's definition of tragedy, as used here, also may apply to Candy, depending on your interpretation of the Greek philosopher's explanation. In his statement regarding "the imitation of an action that is serious...," Candy is a dramatic story concerning a tragic character (in this case, Candy), whose suffering, on some level, readers can identify with. While it might be inaccurate to say that her horrible experiences should bring readers pleasure (that may be a simple language interpretation), the ability to relate to such characters as Joe and Candy may, in a sense, be therapeutic for young and even older adults.

At the risk of making this review sound too much like an academic paper, I'll steer away from the Greek tragic elements for a moment. Joe Beck's character, like many teenagers, is at heart insecure and looking for his place in life. While he has a talent with playing bass (and even songwriting, for that matter), his band only marginally recognizes his abilities. He also seems to have little experience being intimate with women (his age or otherwise); thus, the attention Candy shows him reinforces his obsession with her.

Joe clearly has a close relationship with his sister Gina as well, who in a sense looks after him out of love and concern. Joe almost constantly seems controlled by a desire to "do the right thing," so to speak, follow the rules, and please others. Naturally, one of the major conflicts comes into play when he can't please himself, his father, Candy, and his band members all at once.

Brooks absorbs us into this story through the use of vivid language, realistic dialogue, and characters with depth and personality.

Read these lines: "I found myself curiously drawn to these black barred windows. I couldn't stop staring at them. Studying them, concentrating on the regularity of the bars, the black lines, the width of the gaps, the background whiteness of the curtains..."

Much of the book is filled with such abstract descriptions that draw the reader in, like a dream. Can you easily resist a sentence like, "It was hypnotizing -- the steady rhythm, the heat, the touch - like a wordless lullaby..."?

Not Another Teen Book

Well, in one sense, it is "another teen book," but it certainly stands above the average collection of paperbacks lining the young adult section.

My main criticism - and this really says more about its target audience than anything else - is that the book may prove uninteresting to adults who have long moved past the "awkward teen years." Then again, like J.K. Rowling's now-classic Harry Potter series, Candy is so well-written, and takes place in such a vividly authentic setting, that it's hard not to find yourself wrapped up in its tragicomic plot and innocent/impure characters.

So, thinking you'll never read another piece of "young adult fiction"? This one may change your mind.

RESOURCES:

Paredes, Ramón. (2010, Sept. 16). Aristotle's Definition of Tragedy. Paredes.us. Retrieved September 20, 2010, from http://www.paredes.us/tragedy.html.

Brooks, Kevin. (2006). Candy. Frome, England: Chicken House Publishing.