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Letters from Candy
This story doesn't have a synopsis because the author wishes for you to experience it with virgin eyes. If you read the reviews you will see that this method has been effective.
49 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 30, 2014
36 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
February 1, 2016
☆☆ 2 Moms Fight For Kids Stars☆☆
I am still trying to figure out my feelings on this one. Tiny Love/LOTS hate I guess best describes me because the premise of this story I LOVE LOVE LOVE. Everything else....HATE....especially the MC !!
Story of a mother/daughter relationship turning ugly due to the angsty, dramatic, I know everything teen years.
As Larissa watches her daughter Candy go wild with sex, drugs and hating her mother. Their relationship comes to a blow late one night. Mother and daughter physically and emotionally abuse one another. Ending in Candy leaving and Larissa warning this is it, you leave ... WE ARE DONE.
YOU ARE A MOTHER YOU ARE NEVER DONE!!
Now here is where I get pissed and this story is ruined for me.
As a mother, I would NEVER EVER let my daughter leave so easily. I don't give two shits how many bad words she throws at me or fists she lands on me. The child is mine and I will fight for her.
Larissa DID NOT fight.
She allowed her underage daughter to leave and not blink a damn eye.
When mommy starts receiving letters from Candy, with PLEASE OPEN on the outside, what does mommy do?????? SHE IGNORES THEM. Files them away in a drawer. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME.
After receiving about 8 or so letters unopened, Mommy freaking dearest watches a news report about the bodies of young girls being found abused and killed, and guess who one of the murdered girls is. Yep.....Candy.
Now mommy dearest thinks opening those letters is a fantastic idea. UGH!!!!!!!!
This one again, just pissed me off.
I am still trying to figure out my feelings on this one. Tiny Love/LOTS hate I guess best describes me because the premise of this story I LOVE LOVE LOVE. Everything else....HATE....especially the MC !!
Story of a mother/daughter relationship turning ugly due to the angsty, dramatic, I know everything teen years.
As Larissa watches her daughter Candy go wild with sex, drugs and hating her mother. Their relationship comes to a blow late one night. Mother and daughter physically and emotionally abuse one another. Ending in Candy leaving and Larissa warning this is it, you leave ... WE ARE DONE.
YOU ARE A MOTHER YOU ARE NEVER DONE!!
Now here is where I get pissed and this story is ruined for me.
As a mother, I would NEVER EVER let my daughter leave so easily. I don't give two shits how many bad words she throws at me or fists she lands on me. The child is mine and I will fight for her.
Larissa DID NOT fight.
She allowed her underage daughter to leave and not blink a damn eye.
When mommy starts receiving letters from Candy, with PLEASE OPEN on the outside, what does mommy do?????? SHE IGNORES THEM. Files them away in a drawer. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME.
After receiving about 8 or so letters unopened, Mommy freaking dearest watches a news report about the bodies of young girls being found abused and killed, and guess who one of the murdered girls is. Yep.....Candy.
Now mommy dearest thinks opening those letters is a fantastic idea. UGH!!!!!!!!
This one again, just pissed me off.
October 22, 2014
This is a really good story, but I'm not really sure that I would define it as horror. It is a pretty horrific event. A very sad story. And scary. But not what I consider horror.
The story is well written and emotionally charged. I really felt for Candy, her mother Larissa and Beverly. What all three of them went through is tragic, but if I say anymore, it will give away what you would be experiencing by reading this book. I recommend this story, but not as a horror.
The story is well written and emotionally charged. I really felt for Candy, her mother Larissa and Beverly. What all three of them went through is tragic, but if I say anymore, it will give away what you would be experiencing by reading this book. I recommend this story, but not as a horror.
January 8, 2015
WOW! What do I say about this book. It was so realistic that I really thought I was reading a true story. The author did a great job at capturing this audience's attention. This is something that can get the same reaction out of people. PURE DISGUST!
June 11, 2021
Larissa lives in New York and has a 15 year old daughter called Candy. Larissa tries to cope with the teenage rebellion of Candy but late one night they have a nasty row. Follow Larissa and Candy to discover what happens next.
This novella runs to 49 pages but do not let that put you off, this short book is a cracker. Gerard writes his story from both sides starting first with the mother’s. Gerard writes with great skill and a huge vocabulary. This is not a throw-away leisure magazine story but big book quality. Gerard comes out with a lovely line of…
An abject, guttural, mind numbing moan escaped her mouth like a witch in heat.
...I really enjoyed reading Letters from Candy which I found such a buzz. There was tonnes of raw emotion coupled with great sadness. This short novel is very powerful and really packs a punch. Gerard labels his novel as a horror story but don’t let that put you off as there are no ghosts or supernatural nonsense. I found Letters from Candy to be an OUTSTANDING thriller that gets the top score of 5 stars from me. I have no idea how parents of teenage children would feel about this book, maybe they would consider it to be a noteworthy urban legend.
This novella runs to 49 pages but do not let that put you off, this short book is a cracker. Gerard writes his story from both sides starting first with the mother’s. Gerard writes with great skill and a huge vocabulary. This is not a throw-away leisure magazine story but big book quality. Gerard comes out with a lovely line of…
An abject, guttural, mind numbing moan escaped her mouth like a witch in heat.
...I really enjoyed reading Letters from Candy which I found such a buzz. There was tonnes of raw emotion coupled with great sadness. This short novel is very powerful and really packs a punch. Gerard labels his novel as a horror story but don’t let that put you off as there are no ghosts or supernatural nonsense. I found Letters from Candy to be an OUTSTANDING thriller that gets the top score of 5 stars from me. I have no idea how parents of teenage children would feel about this book, maybe they would consider it to be a noteworthy urban legend.
December 17, 2014
Wow
This story had a serious twist with it. I did enjoy it, although I thought it was a little short. Did t really like the end to much either. But all in all it was a good short story.
This story had a serious twist with it. I did enjoy it, although I thought it was a little short. Did t really like the end to much either. But all in all it was a good short story.
April 10, 2015
Letters to Candy was worth reading. I easily was drawn into the book. Just the hope that was written in the letters was enough to make you tear up.
February 1, 2015
Ok. The premise of the story is brilliant. Very heart-wrenching, not horror so much as suspense. However my problem was the writing. First of all, I'm not really sure why the 3 lesbian references were necessary or what they had to do with the story. Leave that out- it didn't fit. Then the letters- although she had to write quickly she was able to write page after page? It didn't make sense. It felt like a lot of things were repeated over and over for both the mother and the daughter. Which made it less appealing. What you need it to elaborate more on the raw emotions the characters are going through, not the retaliations.
I think this story has a lot of potential, I really do. I would like to see it re-written , and I'll read it again and up my rating:).
I think this story has a lot of potential, I really do. I would like to see it re-written , and I'll read it again and up my rating:).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2015
I just finished this story and have to say I'm disappointed on a number of levels. There really is no plot to speak of; the scenario laid out by the author could, if edited, have been used in a larger work but as a stand-alone piece it just did not work. In need of much editing, this story was filled with clunky writing and word usage that simply did not fit the role assigned to each character.
While I understand that fiction allows for a certain amount of creative license the author still has the responsibility to make his story believable, something that simply does not happen with this story.
While I understand that fiction allows for a certain amount of creative license the author still has the responsibility to make his story believable, something that simply does not happen with this story.
January 10, 2015
I wasn't too impressed with the beginning, seemed like the typical rebellious teenager just taken a step further. As I continued on however, I got more drawn into the story, it easily placed me in the mother's shoes as I read her thoughts and feelings. When she began reading the letters, I was filled with so many emotions. Let this book be a lesson to all who read it... don't hold grudges. Swallow your pride and forgive.
July 27, 2015
This story made me cry. But I learned a very important lesson from it. It gripped me from the first sentence, and didn't let me go until the last.
This story brought some familiar feelings to me. It made me cry, and taught me a very important lesson about being stubborn. And made me realize how lucky I am in this life. It gripped me from the very first sentence and didn't let me go until the last.
This story brought some familiar feelings to me. It made me cry, and taught me a very important lesson about being stubborn. And made me realize how lucky I am in this life. It gripped me from the very first sentence and didn't let me go until the last.
December 15, 2015
I think this story was very touching. It almost brought a tear to my eyes at the end. If that was my daughter, I don't know how I would react. Not everyone get along with family members, be it mother, sister, aunt or uncle, but blood will always be thicker that water. We learn to rise to the occasion and agree to disagree. I think the author did a wonderful job in portraying the scorned heart of the daughter.
March 3, 2015
I really liked this one a lot. I could just envision the mother/daughter arguments as they unfolded. And the frustration of both as neither of them felt they were being heard, basically. And I was glad when the mother made her decision. I didn't quite agree with her decision, however, when the letters began arriving - but that wasn't my call to make. Again, I will definitely read more by Gerard!
October 24, 2015
Poetic horrors....
This author has a great command of the English language. I loved reading this. It's a cautionary tale of a young girl and her mother. The girl is disrespectful and mean to her mother and so the mother tells her that if she leaves, to not ever come back. The girl falls into the hands of a monster. I will leave it there.
Beautifully written. So glad I read it.
This author has a great command of the English language. I loved reading this. It's a cautionary tale of a young girl and her mother. The girl is disrespectful and mean to her mother and so the mother tells her that if she leaves, to not ever come back. The girl falls into the hands of a monster. I will leave it there.
Beautifully written. So glad I read it.
December 13, 2014
It was a good book but it didn't strike me as horror for the genre, I'm not quite sure what genre you'd class it as in all honestly. It was a quick read though and I felt it could have been longer. Enjoyable though.
July 21, 2021
At first the book was slow and I didn't care for it. My mind was quickly changed as I read Candy's letters. Each letter drew up tears in my eyes.
I don't want to give away the ending too much. Let's just say it is not like any other book about abuse, neglect, and rape.
I don't want to give away the ending too much. Let's just say it is not like any other book about abuse, neglect, and rape.
February 5, 2015
This story was predictable but sad. It's quite short and free on Amazon, and since the author chose not to give a synopsis (it is so simple that you can't describe it without ruining "the twist") I will leave it with a warning for violent rape and abuse of a juvenile.
April 6, 2015
Very short, quick read. I cried and cried. This story broke my heart but I could not stop reading once I started this book. Being a mother of a mouthy, rule breaking teenage girl, this story was close to home.
October 23, 2015
Well written , even though the story is dark - more horrible than horror. So believable and really gives you something to think about .
December 19, 2015
There are no words to describe this work. So tragic...so much of a tear jerker...I just can't put it in to words. Wonderful piece of literary genius...
October 6, 2018
I don't enjoy leaving negative reviews, as I appreciate each story comes from the heart of the author and it must be discouraging to read. However I make an exception here because I found this story truly awful. Where should I start? Firstly, it needed an editor. Or a least a second read through by the author. The whole piece is riddled by mistakes, clunky unpleasant sentences, and word repitition. The author also has an unpleasant habit of using fancy words, I assume in an effort to send more intelligent? What it all does though is break any flow he may have created. I found myself going back and re-reading sentences just to figure out what he was trying to portray. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good intellectual piece, but this felt more like a teenager writing for the first time with the aid of a thesaurus.
The content of the story irked as well. It is written from the viewpoint of the mother, we are led through the argument that caused the estrangement with the daughter, and then through the letters from Candy and following repercussions. The author wants us to believe the mother is a good and noble person, dedicated to her students and daughter. But this "good" woman truly fails her daughter in the worst possible way. Not because of the argument, but by her prideful reaction to the letters she received. To refuse to even open the letter because she wanted the child to come beg forgiveness in person, to be completely unmoved and ignore further letters even though the front is scrawled with desperate pleas to open. Any sympathy I may have had evaporated right there. The letters themselves I found to be ridiculous and terribly written. If you've ever actually sat and written a letter by hand you know how long it takes, but we are to believe a 15 year old girl with spotty school attendance sat and wrote what would amount to pages and pages. The language the author thinks this 15 year old would use is completely unbelievable too. The word choice and phraseology is so off, especially as we are led to believe as I said previously, that she wasn't academically dedicated. And the way the daughter whittles on and on. I have no idea what it would be like to be held captive, but I can't imagine a scenario where I would write the drivel she does. Not to mention we are asked to suspend belief and accept this captive is allowed to roam freely, even outside where the "Master" has enough confidence this brutalised little girl won't wander off that he goes to the bathroom and leaves her unattended. How many times does she wander up to the postbox for goodness sake? But even though she writes repeatedly she doesn't think her mother is reading the letters, that she has a book full of stamps and seemingly unending supplies of stationary, and even the address of where she is being held (!) she doesn't consider writing to any other address to ask for help. I really could go on and on, there are so many things that made no sense and thoroughly annoyed me. The ending being another thing, but I shall leave that for any of you that still choose to go ahead and subject yourself to this.
The content of the story irked as well. It is written from the viewpoint of the mother, we are led through the argument that caused the estrangement with the daughter, and then through the letters from Candy and following repercussions. The author wants us to believe the mother is a good and noble person, dedicated to her students and daughter. But this "good" woman truly fails her daughter in the worst possible way. Not because of the argument, but by her prideful reaction to the letters she received. To refuse to even open the letter because she wanted the child to come beg forgiveness in person, to be completely unmoved and ignore further letters even though the front is scrawled with desperate pleas to open. Any sympathy I may have had evaporated right there. The letters themselves I found to be ridiculous and terribly written. If you've ever actually sat and written a letter by hand you know how long it takes, but we are to believe a 15 year old girl with spotty school attendance sat and wrote what would amount to pages and pages. The language the author thinks this 15 year old would use is completely unbelievable too. The word choice and phraseology is so off, especially as we are led to believe as I said previously, that she wasn't academically dedicated. And the way the daughter whittles on and on. I have no idea what it would be like to be held captive, but I can't imagine a scenario where I would write the drivel she does. Not to mention we are asked to suspend belief and accept this captive is allowed to roam freely, even outside where the "Master" has enough confidence this brutalised little girl won't wander off that he goes to the bathroom and leaves her unattended. How many times does she wander up to the postbox for goodness sake? But even though she writes repeatedly she doesn't think her mother is reading the letters, that she has a book full of stamps and seemingly unending supplies of stationary, and even the address of where she is being held (!) she doesn't consider writing to any other address to ask for help. I really could go on and on, there are so many things that made no sense and thoroughly annoyed me. The ending being another thing, but I shall leave that for any of you that still choose to go ahead and subject yourself to this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 19, 2019
Really great story! This author has a unique style of writing, ranging from sad, to hilarious comments and descriptive phrases. He also has an extremely fertile imagination regarding story concepts. This was an especially great one.
November 21, 2017
An amazing book
Such an amazing book but so disturbing too. I will definitely be looking for more by this author.I must admit I cried
Such an amazing book but so disturbing too. I will definitely be looking for more by this author.I must admit I cried
August 19, 2020
Suspense
I enjoy a good horror book. Thank you for delivering! If you like suspense and horror read this book for sure
I enjoy a good horror book. Thank you for delivering! If you like suspense and horror read this book for sure
November 18, 2014
This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland
So there is no synopsis for Letter From Candy. On Amazon it states that the author wants you to go into this book with virgin eyes which is odd right? I mean I have never seen that before. Everything has at least a small snippet of what the story will be about. But this you get nothing. I saw it was only 49 pages long so I thought alright, even if it is terrible I can make it through it. Really I just wanted to see what it was about. I'm not going to share much here since the author doesn't want people to know and I will respect that. But it was an interesting read.
I really enjoyed the way the story was written, the way things were described was kind of odd and I loved that. At the same time it didn't really fit the storyline for me. So it was this strange loving the way it is written, but not loving it for this particular story. It was very descriptive in an interesting way that I did enjoy. Here let me give you a small example that doesn't really give anything away:
"The day Larissa's life changed irrevocably the sun was screaming furiously at the whinnying earth that had been left in its care."
If you did not like that you should not read this book. There is something kind of comforting in the way that is written. It is not like most books I read, but I enjoy it, just maybe not for this story if that makes sense.
I think the biggest reason why it didn't fit this story is when describing what the people were thinking and feeling this descriptive writing made the people feel very strange to me. Like not like a normal person would react or think about something which just made it a bit confusing. As you learn more I was just like wait, this person is really like this? Really? Cause the way they think and feel seems like they are totally not like that and like this other way. So the people didn't really seem realistic to me since they came off in such a different way than they actually were supposed to be.
An odd read, but I did enjoy most of it. The letters got a bit long for me and after the first couple I did start to skim them. They weren't written in the same descriptive style, or not as much so, so they didn't hold my interest as much. They also don't seem to be written by a person of the age of the person writing them. They just felt even more off to me that the rest of the story. It is apparently supposed to be a horror story and I am not sure I would classify it as such. There were some horrible situations, but it is not really a horror story.
It is not a long book, and is pretty quick to read, and one of the better shorts I have read. Normally when I see something is less than 100 pages I don't pick it up since I usually don't enjoy novellas, but the no synopsis got me and I had to see what this story was about. I would be curious to read more by this author, a full length book, and see if the writing style is the same and if it works out well in another situation. Really I did enjoy this read and I would recommend it just for how strange it was to me.
So there is no synopsis for Letter From Candy. On Amazon it states that the author wants you to go into this book with virgin eyes which is odd right? I mean I have never seen that before. Everything has at least a small snippet of what the story will be about. But this you get nothing. I saw it was only 49 pages long so I thought alright, even if it is terrible I can make it through it. Really I just wanted to see what it was about. I'm not going to share much here since the author doesn't want people to know and I will respect that. But it was an interesting read.
I really enjoyed the way the story was written, the way things were described was kind of odd and I loved that. At the same time it didn't really fit the storyline for me. So it was this strange loving the way it is written, but not loving it for this particular story. It was very descriptive in an interesting way that I did enjoy. Here let me give you a small example that doesn't really give anything away:
"The day Larissa's life changed irrevocably the sun was screaming furiously at the whinnying earth that had been left in its care."
If you did not like that you should not read this book. There is something kind of comforting in the way that is written. It is not like most books I read, but I enjoy it, just maybe not for this story if that makes sense.
I think the biggest reason why it didn't fit this story is when describing what the people were thinking and feeling this descriptive writing made the people feel very strange to me. Like not like a normal person would react or think about something which just made it a bit confusing. As you learn more I was just like wait, this person is really like this? Really? Cause the way they think and feel seems like they are totally not like that and like this other way. So the people didn't really seem realistic to me since they came off in such a different way than they actually were supposed to be.
An odd read, but I did enjoy most of it. The letters got a bit long for me and after the first couple I did start to skim them. They weren't written in the same descriptive style, or not as much so, so they didn't hold my interest as much. They also don't seem to be written by a person of the age of the person writing them. They just felt even more off to me that the rest of the story. It is apparently supposed to be a horror story and I am not sure I would classify it as such. There were some horrible situations, but it is not really a horror story.
It is not a long book, and is pretty quick to read, and one of the better shorts I have read. Normally when I see something is less than 100 pages I don't pick it up since I usually don't enjoy novellas, but the no synopsis got me and I had to see what this story was about. I would be curious to read more by this author, a full length book, and see if the writing style is the same and if it works out well in another situation. Really I did enjoy this read and I would recommend it just for how strange it was to me.
September 20, 2015
So much potential to be a great story...
First, the suspense would have been greatly amped had the author stretched the beginning scene by dividing it and the putting them throughout the book as flashbacks. As it is, one can figure out within the first few pages what will happen here.
Next, I had a hard time getting over all the spelling and grammatical mistakes. "Enfant"...really?
Third, the letters are not believable. She wasn't going to school, rather partying and selling herself on the streets, but because she read part of Oliver Twist and had a dictionary on hand, she magically becomes an eloquent writer? She admitted she only has limited time to write because of being in a dark basement with only a crack to allow some light. But, she educated herself with a book and a half in that same dim setting. Please.
Last, and perhaps I'm being obtuse, where the hell did the Sally story come in? At first I thought she would be his first victim and the source of Dickens and dictionary, but it seems she is just another sad case of rape and murder.
I wanted to like this book because the author had a great idea for a bold story. It, unfortunately, just falls flat.
First, the suspense would have been greatly amped had the author stretched the beginning scene by dividing it and the putting them throughout the book as flashbacks. As it is, one can figure out within the first few pages what will happen here.
Next, I had a hard time getting over all the spelling and grammatical mistakes. "Enfant"...really?
Third, the letters are not believable. She wasn't going to school, rather partying and selling herself on the streets, but because she read part of Oliver Twist and had a dictionary on hand, she magically becomes an eloquent writer? She admitted she only has limited time to write because of being in a dark basement with only a crack to allow some light. But, she educated herself with a book and a half in that same dim setting. Please.
Last, and perhaps I'm being obtuse, where the hell did the Sally story come in? At first I thought she would be his first victim and the source of Dickens and dictionary, but it seems she is just another sad case of rape and murder.
I wanted to like this book because the author had a great idea for a bold story. It, unfortunately, just falls flat.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 1, 2016
I read this story in just a few hours. I don't think I would classify it as "horror," maybe thriller or suspense.
Fifteen-year-old Candy seems to think she can do what she chooses. She dresses inappropriately, defies curfew, disobeys her mom and hits her.
One night, Candy comes home late, furious and at her wits end, Candy's mother goes off, lecturing her daughter about her behaviors and telling her she needs to show more respect. The verbal confrontation soon escalates into a physical altercation; both mother AND daughter assault each other. Candy packs a few things and threatens to leave, as she is leaving, Candy's mother tells her that if she leaves, they are to never have any type of contact again.... EVER.
So Candy leaves and things for her mother go on as they have been until a couple of years later she sees a news flash of three young girls - murdered and found in a shallow grave under a tree on some man's property far away.... one of those girls is Candy....
Fifteen-year-old Candy seems to think she can do what she chooses. She dresses inappropriately, defies curfew, disobeys her mom and hits her.
One night, Candy comes home late, furious and at her wits end, Candy's mother goes off, lecturing her daughter about her behaviors and telling her she needs to show more respect. The verbal confrontation soon escalates into a physical altercation; both mother AND daughter assault each other. Candy packs a few things and threatens to leave, as she is leaving, Candy's mother tells her that if she leaves, they are to never have any type of contact again.... EVER.
So Candy leaves and things for her mother go on as they have been until a couple of years later she sees a news flash of three young girls - murdered and found in a shallow grave under a tree on some man's property far away.... one of those girls is Candy....
March 17, 2015
I love a good horror story but sadly this just wasn't my cup of tea, I see enough of man's cruelty to his fellow man on the news and I read for my enjoyment, which tends to the more supernatural and fantasy. I will still give the author's other works a try in the future and I would recommend it to any who like man's cruelty to his fellow man type of stories. I couldn't roll with the mother in this story either.
November 25, 2018
Letters from Candy
I love a good short story and I love watching the twilight zone and this story had that great Alfred Hitchcock twist to it that I enjoy so much...those wonderfully insane, "what ifs," that make you wonder what you would do in the same situation and keep you thinking long after the story has been told! Bravo, great read!!!!!###
I love a good short story and I love watching the twilight zone and this story had that great Alfred Hitchcock twist to it that I enjoy so much...those wonderfully insane, "what ifs," that make you wonder what you would do in the same situation and keep you thinking long after the story has been told! Bravo, great read!!!!!###
November 24, 2014
Need a Description
I thought it odd not to have a description or an author photo, but then to claim the former was the best way came off as hasty and pompous to me. The little typeface and words crammed in there together made it a hard read, and the tale didn't grab my attention.
I thought it odd not to have a description or an author photo, but then to claim the former was the best way came off as hasty and pompous to me. The little typeface and words crammed in there together made it a hard read, and the tale didn't grab my attention.
January 25, 2015
Don't know how to rate this ?
This story is so heart wrenching I don't know how to rate this. I can only say it is so real to life that if u have a teen that runs away u need to read this with them....it might save their life!
This story is so heart wrenching I don't know how to rate this. I can only say it is so real to life that if u have a teen that runs away u need to read this with them....it might save their life!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews