32 CANDLES

A debut tragicomic romance about a woman’s dark past catching up to her.

Glamorous Los Angeles lounge singer Davie Jones grew up Davidia Jones in a poor, abusive, fatherless family in small-town Mississippi. Beaten into literal silence by her prostitute mother, Davie becomes the invisible girl. When the rich Farell family comes to town, Davie falls in love with the Farell heir, James. When his sister, the cartoonishly evil Veronica, finds out, she pulls a prank that proves to be the last straw for Davie, who packs up and runs away. Years later, James and the now successful, charming and vocal Davie cross paths again, and this time, James falls madly in love with her, though the author seems better at describing their steamy sex life than their emotional connection. Veronica reappears and threatens the careful, delicate façade Davie has built for herself since high school. The more frivolous scenes are offset by some surprisingly sober moments. The verbal and physical abuse from Davie’s mother and the school bullying Davie is subjected to are potent and well rendered. Equally touching are the meaningful relationships she forms in L.A. with a truck driver-turned-savior Mama Jones and the gruff nightclub owner, Nicky—easily the most enjoyable member of the cast of characters. Davie and the story take their inspiration from the classic ’80s hit Sixteen Candles, but sometimes the parallels go too far. The narrative would have more impact if it didn’t dismiss every disturbing moment with a scene straight out of a romantic comedy. The love object, James, is as thick as cardboard and twice as boring. Davie is by turns heroic and psychotic, but the simple fact that she is a survivor is enough to keep readers rooting for her, though sometimes only barely. The pacing is steady and having the narrative jump back in time once or twice keeps the plot moving and the fairly shocking revelations coming.

Uneven but spottily entertaining.