Candy Everybody Wants

Josh Kilmer-Purcell's first book, memoir I'm Not Myself These Days was a great read. This summer marks the arrival of Kilmer-Purcell's first novel Candy Everybody Wants. This book starts in my home state; main character Jayson Blocher is growing up gay in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin in the 1980s. He describes himself not as gay, but instead as "a Phil Donohue guest". After filming his own soap opera, Dallasty!, Jayson's masterpiece is aired during a senior class party and his onscreen kiss with neighbor and friend Travis causes a major controversy. Jayson's mom sends him away to New York City to live with his father, a gay actor who has no idea Jayson exists. While there, the protaganist encounters a gay prostitution scandal, falls in love with a child TV star, gets involved in show business, escapes arrest, goes on the lamb and deals with homelessness. If that sounds like a lot, it is. This book packs in the drama and unlikely situations, but it's all fun. I did not enjoy this as much as Kilmer-Purcell's memoir, but it was a good summer read.