Scan barcode
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
3.5***
Subtitle: A Love Story
Paperback subtitle: A Girl’s Tale of Life, Love and Sugar
Hilary Liftin has had a lifelong addiction to candy. I can relate. I consumed quite a lot of sugary treats as a child. One of my uncles (my mother’s brother) was a pastry chef and had his own bakery. Another uncle (my father’s brother), had a grocery store; I was so jealous of my cousins because I believed they could have all the candy they wanted for free. (I was wrong about that, of course.)
As she recalls her childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, she reflects on the many candies she consumed, adored, sought, hoarded and absolutely without guilt enjoyed. Some of these I had never heard of (Bottle caps?), others were also among my favorites, (Junior Mints, Orange Slices and Circus Peanuts), and still others we will have to agree to disagree on (I love Starlight mints, she can’t abide them; she loves candy corn, I’d sooner kiss a sheep.)
We have, both of us, learned to live with a sweet tooth, and moderate our consumption. But it was sure nice to take a walk down memory lane, when penny candy was plentiful and I had a whole DIME to spend on it!
Subtitle: A Love Story
Paperback subtitle: A Girl’s Tale of Life, Love and Sugar
Hilary Liftin has had a lifelong addiction to candy. I can relate. I consumed quite a lot of sugary treats as a child. One of my uncles (my mother’s brother) was a pastry chef and had his own bakery. Another uncle (my father’s brother), had a grocery store; I was so jealous of my cousins because I believed they could have all the candy they wanted for free. (I was wrong about that, of course.)
As she recalls her childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, she reflects on the many candies she consumed, adored, sought, hoarded and absolutely without guilt enjoyed. Some of these I had never heard of (Bottle caps?), others were also among my favorites, (Junior Mints, Orange Slices and Circus Peanuts), and still others we will have to agree to disagree on (I love Starlight mints, she can’t abide them; she loves candy corn, I’d sooner kiss a sheep.)
We have, both of us, learned to live with a sweet tooth, and moderate our consumption. But it was sure nice to take a walk down memory lane, when penny candy was plentiful and I had a whole DIME to spend on it!
laila4343's review
4.0
This book is awesome. I found it at the used bookstore for like $.50. If you have a sweet tooth or candy nostalgia of any kind, you must read it. It's fun, well-written, and a quick read.
maryganska's review against another edition
4.0
Surprisingly interesting and a little bit disturbing - I love candy myself and can never imagine eating as much as Hilary consumed through the course of this book. The stories are woven and sugar-laced with info about all the types of candy that abound though, and I while at first it took me a bit to get into the book, I enjoyed reading about her growing up and learning to control her candy urges (at least a little bit). I too, adore bottlecaps, and her description of them and each candy that she loves was hilarious and great at the same time. I'm surprised I liked this book, and I know I'll never read it again, but it was a sweet, easy read and I liked it.
erinmp's review against another edition
3.0
This was cute. Liftin's memoir of her life is centered around all things candy. Candy Corn, Jellybeans, Snickers, Junior Mints, Bottlecaps, Skittles, Circus Peanuts, Taffy, Twizzlers, Necco Wafers, and Starburst--all of these and more have played a prominent role in her life. She flashes back to her life beginning with Bubble Burgers on through to Meltaways. Each candy reminds her of a specific time or event in her life. As she grows up and eventually falls in love, candy is slowly replaced by more important human interactions; but it never disappears. This girl is serious about her candy.
It was cute, but not terribly terrific. I'd give it 2 1/2 stars, sometimes rounded up to three. Maybe because I've never really been into a lot of sweets (Liftin's Halloween candy was gone the next day--mine was still lurking around at Easter), it didn't really "get" me. In fact, there were sometimes that I felt a little sick just reading about the amount of sugar she ingested. But it is a cute memoir, written in a unique way. Super-fast read.
It was cute, but not terribly terrific. I'd give it 2 1/2 stars, sometimes rounded up to three. Maybe because I've never really been into a lot of sweets (Liftin's Halloween candy was gone the next day--mine was still lurking around at Easter), it didn't really "get" me. In fact, there were sometimes that I felt a little sick just reading about the amount of sugar she ingested. But it is a cute memoir, written in a unique way. Super-fast read.
simplyparticular's review
4.0
Read it once on my own, and again for a book club. An enjoyable trip down memory lane via the taste buds, especially for a sweets addict like me.
kate_elizabeth's review
2.0
(2.5-ish) Liftin weaves her love of candy through the years of her life, matching them up with relationships, heartbreak and milestones. It's a sweet read but one I'm not sure why I kept around my house for so long. Worth a perusal if you have a sweet tooth...which I really don't.
breecreative's review
3.0
This was an interesting book, her life's memories all wrapped up in her memories about candy - every event in her life is somehow tied to a certain type of candy. Although, unlike most memoirs, this one doesn't HAVE a lot of memories, you don't really learn her whole life story, because most of the book is writing details and merits of the different candies she focused on in her life.
I thought I was a sugar addict, but after reading this I realize that I'm not quite so bad...sure, I enjoy candy probably a bit more than most but I'm not obsessed and candies don't remind me of certain times of my life.
But, good on her for figuring out how to turn her love of candy into a story that keeps a person reading and entertained.
I thought I was a sugar addict, but after reading this I realize that I'm not quite so bad...sure, I enjoy candy probably a bit more than most but I'm not obsessed and candies don't remind me of certain times of my life.
But, good on her for figuring out how to turn her love of candy into a story that keeps a person reading and entertained.
mcallima's review
4.0
Who can't identify with this book? Who can't feel nostalgia at thinking about favorite candies? I was surprised at my emotional response to this book. Reading of her love of candy corn, I felt a burst of joy at my same feeling (and proper way to eat it!) I was surprised at how quickly I responded to this book. Perhaps because candy is ,ore universal than we realize, but it was so easy to relate and remember as I read this book. It made it personal for me, which is a mark of a good book! While readi you could easily remember how certain candies are tied to certain memories and moments. Granted, I am as much a candy fiend has Hilary Liftin! It was a satisfying, entertaining and quick read!,
jessferg's review
4.0
My Amazon review: It has easily been fifteen years (when I worked at Morrow's Nut House in Cape May, NJ for the summer) since I have had the candy known as fruit slices. Today I had a quarter pound (and they were delish!). Hilary - I can only blame you.
This fabulously fun book combines sweet with bittersweet in an all out original twist on the memoir. Composed of 57 anecdotes, some only a half of a page in length, this quick read details a life lived through candy consumption, but this is not another blow by blow memoir. While the reader certainly gets a general overview of the author's life there is not a sense that you have lived with Liftin - you do not endure her every waking moment, every high and low, just the important points (i.e.: the candy...). And while you know you like her, and easily identify with her childhood follies and romantic foibles, you realize the author is just a normal gal, like your best friend from high school. Of course the memoir is profoundly marked by the enjoyment of pound after pound of nostalgic confections and Liftin's descriptive abilities and word-play make your mouth water.
But Liftin does not glamorize her "addiction", or leave us with a book of fluff. She struggles with her ability to identify, but inability to define, her addiction to candy. The worry that it is biological and inescapable vs. the worry that it is psychological and just an easy way to make her feel good about herself (or is it a sly combination of the two?) is no doubt the same worry we have all struggled with regardless of what our own addiction is.
Patrick Barth's chapter heading illustrations and illustrated "Candy Timeline" and "Candy Math" charts must not be overlooked. They completely set the tone of the book and are just great at rounding out an already fun, not-to-be-missed book.
This fabulously fun book combines sweet with bittersweet in an all out original twist on the memoir. Composed of 57 anecdotes, some only a half of a page in length, this quick read details a life lived through candy consumption, but this is not another blow by blow memoir. While the reader certainly gets a general overview of the author's life there is not a sense that you have lived with Liftin - you do not endure her every waking moment, every high and low, just the important points (i.e.: the candy...). And while you know you like her, and easily identify with her childhood follies and romantic foibles, you realize the author is just a normal gal, like your best friend from high school. Of course the memoir is profoundly marked by the enjoyment of pound after pound of nostalgic confections and Liftin's descriptive abilities and word-play make your mouth water.
But Liftin does not glamorize her "addiction", or leave us with a book of fluff. She struggles with her ability to identify, but inability to define, her addiction to candy. The worry that it is biological and inescapable vs. the worry that it is psychological and just an easy way to make her feel good about herself (or is it a sly combination of the two?) is no doubt the same worry we have all struggled with regardless of what our own addiction is.
Patrick Barth's chapter heading illustrations and illustrated "Candy Timeline" and "Candy Math" charts must not be overlooked. They completely set the tone of the book and are just great at rounding out an already fun, not-to-be-missed book.
library_brandy's review against another edition
4.0
A life story punctuated by candy, or a candy story punctuated by life events--is there any difference between them? Liftin records every texture, every sensation, every experience in great detail, sharing her love for (or addiction to) any form of sugary sweet. From eating cups of powdered sugar with a spoon at seven years old to a marriage proposal in a package of Bottlecaps, candy has always been a part of Liftin's life--and she's willing to share it with you.
Very brief personal essays centered on candy. Nothing that's research-based (in fact, she talks about the terrible name of the Reese's FastBreak, but is apparently unaware of its much-improved Canadian identity, the Sidekick), but a very quick and engaging read all the same. Adding this to the 12th-grade booktalk list, because what's more exciting than candy?
Very brief personal essays centered on candy. Nothing that's research-based (in fact, she talks about the terrible name of the Reese's FastBreak, but is apparently unaware of its much-improved Canadian identity, the Sidekick), but a very quick and engaging read all the same. Adding this to the 12th-grade booktalk list, because what's more exciting than candy?