32 Candles

A Novel

By: Ernessa T. Carter

Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo

Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins

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

It was hard to hit pause before the end

This is such a good book. I was hooked on the plot and the characters. The story begins with a young black girl, Davidia Jones, from Mississippi. She is abused by her mother and mocked and bullied by her classmates, who are also black. They call her Monkeynight because she is considered to be ugly and too dark. Davidia loved to imitate Tina Turner. A major beatdown by her mother caused her to completely stop singing and talking. Then she became obsessed with Molly Ringwold movies, especially Sixteen Candles. A cruel event causes Davidia to run away from Mississippi and her mother when she was 15 years old. Davidia becomes Davy Jones. The trials, successes and tribulations in Davy's life are riveting. She wants a Molly Ringwold ending for her love life, but it is elusive. The supporting characters are just as interesting as Davy. They were complete and distinctive. This is very well written and narrated. I loved every minute.

So so so goooooddd!!!

This book was amazing. I loved the story! I was moved by the detail of the character development of the protagonist and caught off guard by some of the twists and turns the book took. Admittedly, I had to get over the faux southern accents but that was easy to do because the book was so enjoyable. This is the perfect African American chick-lit vacation book.

Loved it!

I would this over and you over. I wish it could be a movie now!

Perfect 👌

This is my 2nd read and I love this story minus the abuse Davey endured...the character is very relatable....

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.

Loved It!

I absolutely loved this book! I am looking forward to reading future books by this author.

Oh my word - what a story!!!!

If you could sum up 32 Candles in three words, what would they be?

Vulnerable + Hot + Powerful

What does Adenrele Ojo bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The accent was never one that I could conjured up in my head. It makes the whole story come alive!

Who was the most memorable character of 32 Candles and why?

The main character in the moment when she realized that she could allow her 'other' to come out and sing!!!

Any additional comments?

I loved when she awakened the memory of her mother defending her. So often we remember easily and completely all the bad. But, in that moment, she took her mom from one dimensional to 3D. In retrospect, I would say, all the characters eventually went through this transformation in Davie's mind's eye.

Great story - Waves of emotion

Where does 32 Candles rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is my second time reading this book. Having the story narrated was a different experience. I laughed, got excited and sympathized with the character.Looking forward to hearing more from this author.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the progression of this story.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was when Davi ended up in the lap of her longtime crush while at work.

If you could rename 32 Candles, what would you call it?

I wouldn't rename it.

Fantastic

Great job, laughed tons , fantastic story from beginning to end, will definitely recommend to many

I smiled like never before!

This book held my attention probably more than any other I’ve listened to. I didn’t want it to end! And when it ended, I was still smiling. The perfect story. I want all her books now.