Miss Moon's Book Club: 32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter

I used to be a voracious reader. My nose was always stuck in a book, and the books I considered my Top Five were always in heavy rotation. In the last few years, I've admittedly stopped reading as much as I used to. And I miss the pleasure of curling up with a good book. So I've started taking steps to change that by investing in a new book every month.

Since this blog in many ways reflects my life, I decided to create a new blog posting to talk about the books I've been reading and my thoughts. I call it... Miss Moon's Book Club... Keep in mind it's not an official book club, and you are under no obligation to get the book.. unless you want to, of course!

My first pick for Miss Moon's Book Club is 32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter. I picked this book up yesterday morning on my way to work... and finished around 11 o'clock last night. It was a definite page-turner!!!

I could wholeheartedly relate to Davie. Her and I are the same age, so I remember watching the old John Hughes Films of the 80s and (despite the fact that the characters didn't look like me) feel and empathize with their teenage angst.

It was also great to read about a heroine who is happily nappy like me and to watch her blossom into herself. The book had some amazing twists and turns and I kept reading eagerly to see if Davie would have her "Molly Ringwald ending".... Will she? Mum's the word from me! LOL



Here's a quick synopsis of the book:

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.



To read an excerpt of 32 Candles, click here. If you like what you've read, click below to order a copy!

















Have you already read 32 Candles? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the novel. Be sure to leave a comment. Also, I hope to make Miss Moon's Book Club an reoccurring trend in the blog. If you have a book you'd like to suggest for a future post, be sure to drop me a line with your recommendation.