This book is a bit ridiculous - in an okay way though. It has this weird madcap quality that toes the line between cute and absurd. I feel like anyone born 1990 and earlier will be able to appreciate the 80's nostalgia the author was going for, and any one born after might get a kick out of how desperate this kid is for fame, since we live in type of society right now. The plot takes odd twists and turns that can sometimes pull the reader out of the story. I often found my self going "Wait,what? *flips back a page* huh... okay?" It sometimes felt like I was reading a 6 graders dream journal-turned passion project. Still fun, but wildly immature at times.

I've only heard of this authors previous work "I'm Not Myself These Days" but have never actually read it. I'm kinda glad I read this first because I feel like it can only get better. He even said in is "P.S, that this was a one weird for him. He said it was story that he wished was is autobiography.

To be clear, this book is not bad. It's an easy read, and I enjoyed enough to read it in a couple of days.

Solid 3 stars.
( )

Picked it up at a conference, read it in a day. It's kind of like reading a lot of People magazines at the hairdresser. Fun, fabulous, fame-addicted, sordid and sentimental. ( )

Jayson, with a Y for effect, declares himself gay at the age of five, while still at school he is filming his own soap, a cross between Dynasty and Dallas, with the next door twins, Tara and Trey, playing the roles Jayson himself is not. Jayson's family can at best be described as disfunctioanl, his neurotic mother has been married so many times he has no idea who his father is. His younger brother suffers with Prader-Willi syndrome, at it is Jayson who maintains some control over his eating.

But Jayson has a dream, to be a famous actor, and despite his disadvantaged background it seems he just might make it, but there are many pitfalls on the way. Jayson also has something to learn about his priorities and human relationships.

This is without question and immensely funny story peopled with a diverse range of characters from a retired actor running an escort agency with chorus boys as the escorts, to an outspoken and frequently drunk ageing actress; and includes a cute and famous boy actor, a fanatically religious mother and a too butch trainee policewoman. Jayson is an appealing young boy who can be a little too full of himself initially (all part of the desire to be in front of an audience), but he learns a few lessons over the duration of the story and comes out a better person for it. Despite occasional weaknesses in the prose, Candy Everybody Wants is delightful and very entertaining read. ( )

The Book Report: The author himself describes this as his childhood and coming-of-age as he'd've liked them to be. I can see no point in adding to that description.

My Review: Oh dear. ( )

Candy Everybody Wants is a light-hearted and easy-t0-read book, set nostalgically in the early 1980s. Jayson (with a distinctive "y") Blocher wants to be on T.V. He wants to be really famous. The only problem, he lives in Wisconsin where he films his own soap operas using an old video recorder with a separate tape recorder for sound. Oh, and he's gay, with a somewhat dysfunctional set of family and friends.

When events in his home town don't end well, Jayson finds himself in New York, where he sets himself firmly on the path to fame. However, things aren't quite that easy, and Jayson has to learn to come to terms with himself and his family.

The book is an easy read and makes a perfect flight or beach read. It is quite funny at times, but has the overall lightweight feel of candyfloss. There's something to watch with this author - he clearly has a flair and wit (well, he was a very famous drag queen). ( )