Review of 32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter

32 Candles is Ernessa T. Carter’s first novel.   And this is one humdinger of a first novel.  I’ll briefly describe the main plot in order not to give too much of the story away.  Davie is growing up in a small town in Mississippi with an abusive mother and no idea who her father is.  She fixates on the move 16 Candles as a sign that her life can change, and uses it as her guide to get the most popular boy school.  Well, things backfire, and Davie runs away to California.  She winds up with that boy  (now man) but there’s a lot of hurdles along the way.

I know that description doesn’t really tell you much, but I really didn’t want to give away too much of the story.  I LOVED this book!  Like couldn’t put down, read through the night, ignored the kids, did as little housework as possible, loved this book.  If you are at all familiar with the 80′s movie genre that 16 Candles fits into, you’ll know that these movies have all sorts of struggles and a certain formula.  While 32 Candles fits into the formula, there are enough twists that leave you wondering where this book is going and keep it from being predictable.

One point I would like to make is that while 32 Candles is published by Amistad Books, which is an African-American imprint, don’t be daunted by that.  I know I don’t usually read African-American fiction, but this book is not merely African-American fiction, but also fits into the chick lit genre.  While some mention is made of the different shades of skin, Carter is informative and doesn’t take it for granted that the reader knows about how this impacts African-American girls and women.

32 Candles will appeal to different races and generations.  Pretty much anybody who has pined after that popular guy and has been one of the outcasts will identify with this book.  Carter writes beautifully and I will be eagerly awaiting her next novel.

I was sent a copy of 32 Candles for this review.  This did not influence my review in any way.  All opinions are 100% my own.