‘Candy’ is a story with an unlikely premise. An English boy from the upper middle class meets and falls in love with a – prostitute! But in the skilful hands of Kevin Brooks the narrative is not only plausible, it is absolutely compelling. He paints a chilling picture of the brutal world of pimps and their ‘slaves’, including the devious means pimps use to turn innocent girls into prostitutes. Moreover, the author’s thoroughly-researched account of the power of drug addiction appears to be terrifyingly realistic. Finally, in Joe, the central figure and first-person narrator of the story, Candy, the prostitute he falls in love with, and Iggy, Candy’s savage pimp, Brooks has created three unforgettable characters.

Like the drugs it tells about, ‘Candy’ is a story with the power to hook its readers, leaving them wide-eyed and marvelling under its spell. This is young adult fiction at its best written by the award-winning author of ‘Martyn Pig’ and ‘Lucas’. In my opinion, it is thematically and lexically a very suitable reader for 11-12th classes.

‘Candy’ by Kevin Brooks, 2005