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32 Candles  By  cover art

32 Candles

By: Ernessa T. Carter
Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
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Publisher's summary

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.

©2010 Ernessa T. Carter (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about 32 Candles

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

2 High Fives - for Monkey Night

OMG – Monkey Night was simply the best character ever. I love the ugly duckling undertones….okaaay overtones. The true presence in the book is all about personal growth despite obstacles. It is very well written (can’t say that enough times).

I got lost in the book, and you know what they say about a good book, they are always too short, so I am requesting a sequel. This book went up and down Interstate 95 with me, proving to make the ride intriguing and peaceful, I forgot the time.

The narrator did this piece of art the justice it deserved. If you ever had a crush, if you have ever been embarrassed about your skeletons, if you have ever known someone that was truly a ‘B’, the artist craft fully weaves them all together in a beautiful basket, with a bow.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

WOW.

THIS IS A REALLY GOOD BOOK. I LOVE THE MAIN CHARACTERS PERSONALITY. SHE WENT THROUG A LOT AND CAME OUT STRONGER. LOVE IT.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible first novel

I am typically hesitant about using my credits for an unknown author and even more so when I am purchasing books with my own money. 32 Candles was well worth it all!!! I loved this book and can't wait for more from this author. The characters are well developed and the remarks pithy. I was so lost in this book that I forced myself to stay up way past my bedtime to hear what would happen next because I just didn't want to stop listening...much the same way I felt when the book ended.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A good read....

A true underdog story, 32 Candles embodies the spirit of most young women trying to make since of themselves and how they can fit into the world around them. Everyone remembers the Davidia Jones’ of our high schools. Awkward, shy, “unattractive”, usually poor, and in general; an outcast. Following Davidia Jones through her maturation as her class outcast to a beautiful young woman (internally & externally) who loves herself and her world was quite enjoyable. Ernessa T. Carter has a good sense of humor that I think will make most readers share the laugh out loud moments I enjoyed. A feel good story mixed with romance, drama and humor. Definitely recommend to anyone to read.

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

modern day fairy tale

this book made me laugh, cry, and sympathize with the main character. it is wonderfully written, i only wish the ending was a little longer.

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7 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Unique Story

I really enjoyed this story for the first 8 hrs. The last 3 needed to be edited in my opinion. It seemed to me the author became a bit obsessed with her story and didn't want it to end. In my opinion she took a book that had great momentum and slightly ruined it by taking it past it's "end by" time. But I would still recommend it. It's a very unique story and even after it became overlong I was listening to it practically non-stop - probably more so because I just wanted it to end -- I kept checking how long was left.
One other note - I think the author was trying to wrap everything up in a bow, leaving no strings untied, nothing to guess about. This made the book overlong. I prefer books that aren't like that because life isn't like that; I prefer books that leave me with something to think about. From what I understand this is the author's first book, perhaps with practice or if she had it to do over again she might see that this book could have been an even better book if it were trimmed.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating

Could not stop listening once I started. The story flowed smoothly during first half was a bit confusing two thirds than cleared up during the last part. The reader was easy to listen to and depicted the characters well. The aurthor tied up all the loose ends with the story leaving you with a feel good feeling. Highly recommend this book and will be looking for the next book.









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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Good Listen

This was not a typical novel. I appreciated the narrator. This is a great novel to listen to. You will enjoy this.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Crazy love - literally! Crazy!

What made the experience of listening to 32 Candles the most enjoyable?

I loved this book despite some of the gaps and flaws. This book could have easily been 4 distinct stories: childhood trauma and the early years. This is where we meet Davidia. She is young, strong, vulnerable and traumatized. Then Davie moves to Hollywood and becomes a successful lounge singer. Then there is a whole section on crazy vengeance and the last section is just on atonement. Together it was disjointed but again I STILL loved the book. There are some lines in this book that had me rolling. I was laughing so hard. Even when things weren't gelling I still couldn't put this audio down. Listened to it and enjoyed every minute of it. Be warned: There are a lot of F bombs and some graphic sex scenes.

What about Adenrele Ojo’s performance did you like?

Loved her. Great voice. Great at capturing Davidia's emotional range which is everything from amazing to down right crazy!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Davidia's childhood and her relationship with her horrible, selfish mother.

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5 people found this helpful

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Enjoyable and Entertaining

The storyline is interesting and it touched on moral issues. The book is laid out in a very interesting way. It keeps you listening. Excellent writing and performance. I loved Ms. Ojo southern accent.

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4 people found this helpful