Candy Kane

Candy Kane #1

by Janet Lambert

Major Kane is transferred to Fort Benning, Georgia. The Major's wife, Marcia and daughter, Leigh are averse to moving and make life difficult for the family. The delightful Candy is well loved by the Fort Benning post. She meets and eventually dates sixteen year old Barton Reed.

Genres: Young Adult, World War II

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1943

About the author

Janet Lambert, born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, was a popular girls' story author from 1941 through 1969 (and beyond to today). She wrote 54 books during that time about a number of different girls and their families. Her most popular series were about the Parrishes and the Jordons. These stories, and many of her other series, became entwined as the various characters met each other, married, and then had children of their own!

Janet, having an interest in both the theater and writing, decided to write her own plays in which to act. She did achieve her goal and appeared on Broadway. When she married a career Army officer, her life on stage came to a close, but her stories were still flowing. Knowing well the "life of the Army," many of Ms. Lambert's books are set on Army posts throughout the United States.

Legend has it that her stories started as bedtime stories for her children while they were overseas. Each night, the author would tell the next "installment" of the series. Later, after her kids were grown, she penned one of her stories (Star Spangled Summer) and—according to legend—it was sold to a publisher the very day after she sent it to them.

Reviews

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like sappy, sweet, old fashioned WWII fiction, Janet Lambert is a great author to read. Candy Kane's father is a reservist who is called to duty during WWII, and she moves with him to the Army base before her mother and sister. Candy is very different from her very superficial mother and sister, and finally gets to explore life without them hovering over making her do things she doesn't want to do, and looking down on her because she does things they don't want her to do. The entire series is adorable, probably more suited to children than YA. Also, Janet Lambert's characters cross-over between series a lot, so if you want to know about another character, chances are she/he has an entire series of his/her own.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5? A dear friend calls this a favorite, but oh I struggled with it. Candy's mother was so atrocious and Candy was genuinely afraid of her, with good reason. Her father blew that off entirely, even as he recognized it, and Candy hid it from her friends. And then it was a magical turn on a dime! Ugh. I did feel sympathy for her sister once we got her perspective, but she was still genuinely a horridly spoiled person who didn't grow. Candy was such a doormat, and I couldn't stand Barton actively manipulating her over and over. Candy was such a Mary Sue, but I would have enjoyed it more without her family or Barton. That's not even getting into the racist way of writing the Black characters. This series is a miss for me.

[Kate Donnelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Candy Kane is the first of three re-reads for me that I read when I was in my early teens. I loved them. These three books I purchase when I was in my 30's. Candy Kane grows up as an Army brat in Fort Benning during WWII. The book presents a culture that many girls shared and many others dreamed about. It is very Pollyanna-like.



Candy Kane
Whoa Matilda
One for the Money

[Meg W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another sweet story by Janet Lambert.

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

So weird.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved, loved, loved this book! Every Lambert book I read seems to be more outstanding than the last. "Candy Kane" is the first of a mini series about a girl named Candace Kane and this mini series can be read without getting mixed up into the long Parish-Jordan series, although I'm betting that at some point Candy will meet up with those other families. This is a sweet vintage book about life on an Army base during World War II.

Candy is a plain little 14 year-old girl in pigtails whose beautiful spoiled older sister Leigh has always outshone her. But Candy doesn't care. Add to that an equally spoiled beautiful mother who doesn't want to be known as old enough to have two half grown daughters so her daughters call her "Marcia", not mom. When her father, Major Kane, is called to Fort Benning, Georgia for war training, Candy elects to go along. By the time her lofty spoiled mother and sister arrive she has made many friends and is the sweetheart of the base. The neighbors next door, Anne and Barton Reed, Candy's good friends, and their friendly welcoming mother, whom Candy comes to call "Mom", help to round out what has been missing in her life, and give her some stability.

There are 4 Candy Kane books.

[J.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reminded me very much of a Deanna Durbin movie! Which is not a bad thing. It is a sweet, feel-good story about a little miss fix-it who manages to make her family happier, do some matchmaking, sing on stage, and even charm the boy next door. I related well to Candy as an awkward kid but not quite as well to her almost overnight transformation! I did appreciate that her nasty sister hadn't completely reformed by the end of the book. Room for growth in book 2.
A fun story with a glimpse of another time, however idealized.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Janet Lambert (I had never heard of her books until I was an adult). I enjoy her focus on the war (WWII), since that had to be central to most people's lives during the period, but is seldom discussed in great detail in kidlit. I got the whole Candy Kane series, so I plan to read the next one now.

[CLM · Rating 5 out of 5]

When her father patriotically signs up for active duty during World War II, teenage Candy, the overlooked younger sister, decides to accompany him to Fort Benning.

I like Candy but not her mean mother and sister, wimpy father or boring boyfriend...

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that I remember when I was younger that I loved because I felt like it gave me a taste of what life was like for my mom when her dad was in the Marines. It's sweet..

[Rebecca]

very favorite!

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

This vintage rhythm of the dialogue in this book appealed to me. It was also nice to read a book with no divorce, drugs, or adultery. I wish my library had the rest of the series.