• Candy Girl

  • A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper
  • By: Diablo Cody
  • Narrated by: Natalie Moore
  • Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (350 ratings)

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Candy Girl  By  cover art

Candy Girl

By: Diablo Cody
Narrated by: Natalie Moore
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Publisher's summary

Decreed by David Letterman (tongue in cheek) on CBS TV's The Late Show to be the pick of "Dave's Book Club 2006", Candy Girl is the story of a young writer who dared to bare it all as a stripper.

At the age of 24, Diablo Cody decided there had to be more to life than typing copy at an ad agency. She soon managed to find inspiration from a most unlikely source - amateur night at the seedy Skyway Lounge. While she doesn't take home the prize that night, Diablo discovers to her surprise the act of stripping is an absolute thrill.

This is Diablo's captivating fish-out-of-water story of her yearlong walk on the wild side, from quiet gentlemen's clubs to multilevel sex palaces and glassed-in peep shows. In witty prose she gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at this industry through a writer's keen eye, chronicling her descent into the skin trade and the effect it had on her self-image and her relationship with her now husband.

©2006 Diablo Cody (P)2008 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Good, frothy fun.... For those of us who have stared, transfixed, from a distance, wondering how the air is up there, Candy Girl is a bracing lungful." (Los Angeles Times)

"Diablo Cody is to stripping what Chuck Klosterman is to pop culture and Sarah Vowell is to American history.... Candy Girl is fiendishly funny, muscle-car fast, and frighteningly - and I do mean frighteningly - accurate." (Lily Burana, author of Strip City: A Stripper’s Farewell Journey Across America)

"[Cody is] a quick, erudite, and funny writer.... One hell of a good story." (Time Out Chicago)

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What listeners say about Candy Girl

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Prefer a 3.5 if I could

I didn't know what to expect when choosing this book and frankly only considered this title since it was offered at a very low cost. And I must admit... my curiosity took over.
Overall I was pleasantly surprised.
Ms. Cody illustrates a slice of this foreign world with sharp-witted humor. She conveyed tolerance and at times compassion for her fellow sex workers. And with clever wit she expressed a wide range of thoughts and feelings towards the men who paid for her services. To say that this author has an open mind is an understatement . I think I identified with Ms. Cody in the sense that her insatiable curiosity drew her to this profession. I found it refreshing as she described her love and admiration for her partner, specifically I liked how she admires him for the kind of dedicated father he is to his little daughter. I finished this book really liking Ms. Cody. Overall I am glad I chose this for a quick and non-complicated listen. It is a fun book and yes I agree, not for everyone.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Not for everyone

The story of a smart girl who is drawn into exotic dancing and her return to life away from it. Self discovery and comic relief make the story interesting.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting and funny/gross insights

This book was surprisingly entertaining. I had been concerned that it was going to be some sob-story woe-is-me tale about a woman trapped in a lifestyle. It is actually quite the opposite of that. The author claims to have gone into stripping of her own free will - and not ostensibly to write this book either - this is actually the only part of the whole book that I didn't feel was true. I can understand going "undercover" to get all the dirty details with the intent of exposing it, but her rationale is that she was "rebelling". I just didn't believe her motivations - women don't enter the sex trade to rebel. And I don't believe her relationship with her boyfriend either - she can go rub up on strangers all night and he's okay with that? yeah...

Anyway, the author's motivations aside, it's a very interesting and fast story. There are some very funny parts, and some very disturbing parts, and I'm pleased that I read it. Oh, and as can be expected in a book about the porn industry, there are graphic details and foul language throughout.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

I don't buy it

Something doesn't sit well with this story. I don't buy the whole premise. The book, whose author repeatedly refers to herself as a "dork", reads like a pornographic magazine. If she's such a nice and innocent girl, then why all the trash talk? And if she's really trashy, then why pretend not to be?

I did learn something about the strip scene, but the story's incongruity left me with doubts about the author's integrity.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Provacative and Interesting

I found the behind the scenes operations of strip clubs to be fascinating. Listened to this on one long flight. Very enjoyable.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

It's only okay

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, but more as an example: how not to write descriptions.

Has Candy Girl turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. But I would think twice about another Cody book.

Did Natalie Moore do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes. I really liked the performance.

Was Candy Girl worth the listening time?

Yeah, it's short enough to be okay.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Naive in the world

If one wants to leave the comfort of normal and to learn about the adult entertainment dance scene this book is for you. Many people who visit strip clubs know a lot of the nasty of the stage, lap dances, booths, and private rooms. This book hits on that a bit but focuses on one persons experience over a year or two of working in these venues. It is as disgusting as u can imagine. For someone naive about the sexual dance industry it cements those half truths and imaginations they might have. I enjoyed hearing how Cody got involved and at the end owned it. Some of the charters she encounters I wonder about and if they continues or somehow found what they wanted and got on with their life.

The reader did a great job. Clear, concise, and entertaining with the accents I will look for more of Natalie Moore's work.

The story is a diary of one person life in the stripper industry in a northern backwater state.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Much Better At 29 Than 15

I first read this book back when it was first released, around 2005 or 2006. I was a sophomore/junior in high school, and I was intrigued by the book. I enjoyed it, but obviously a lot of it went over my head. I remember my best friend and I having to Google a lot of the terms in the book to get through it because we were so young.

Rereading it as someone a month shy of 29-years-old made the book so much better. I've lived more, experienced more, and shed my naiveness. I have friends that are or have been sex workers, and "Candy Girl" gives a great look into WHY people start stripping (moneyyyy) and why they continue despite learning to hate the industry (again, moneyyy).

Diablo's writing is honest, witty, and easy to consume. Her descriptions allowed me to visualize her, the other strippers, and each club where she worked. Johnny and Peanut really made the book whole, as two people who loved Diablo no matter her job description and who just wanted her to be happy.

Whether you value your purity or are a former sex worker yourself, I feel like Diablo Cody's "Candy Girl" is a great read for people everywhere, and a great look into a world that many never experience.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Authentic and well written.

Diablo Cody is a very good writer. And this memoir is fearless and authentic. I have spent a lot of time and money in that world, and I've met a few strippers like Diablo. The ones who are just passing through.

If you are curious about this lifestyle or just want to listen to a fun, entertaining true story, I highly reccomend this book.

I was a little put off at first by her clever phrasing and descriptions, but they are good. just roll with it. What do you expect from a showgirl, she is showing off her writing chops. It kind of reminded me of the fake diary from Gone Girl, clever and funny.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Candy Girl?

What did you like best about Candy Girl? What did you like least?

The story was a new twist on the stripper/prostitute angle. This girl was not forced into the life or led there by some male taking advantage of her. She went because she tried it and became addicted, according to the story.

I didn't think the reader was as bad as many said. There was not a lot of inflection in the voice, but I guess I overlooked that.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Natalie Moore?

probably

Could you see Candy Girl being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

NOPE! I would not be watching it anyway if they made it. Not opposed to sex in movies, nor to some degree, not opposed to movies about sex. I just think this is a poor venue for it. I would get really tired of watching her and her friends do pole dances and masterbation.

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1 person found this helpful