Rating: 
Summary: Made me hungry!
Review: While this book about the candy industry was written in a nice, easy to read style, I found myself getting a bit bored sometimes. I love candy as much as the next person, but I don't get the same sort of pleasure the author does about describing how a candy bar is made. In fact, I get sort of confused quite honestly. That said, I did love the author and he made me laugh several times with tales of his obsession.
Rating: 
Summary: A terrific read for many reasons
Review: With all due respect to other reviews that critize Almond's style and 'voice', I thoroughly enjoyed the playful and often philosophical narrative in this hugely interesting and entertaining book. It's one of the best books that I've read, devored really, in years. Candyfreak isn't a simple book to categorize; it's not just a history of candy, it's also a fascinating, and indeed personal, journey that captures in very funny and vivid ways the people and places where candy is made and revered. Sure, Candyfreak has a lot of interesting information about candy and its history, but for a non-candy lover, it never comes across as boring or dense. This is a book that I enjoyed because of the energy and honesty of the author and his ability to fuse laugh-out-loud humor with real insight and vulnerability -- about his own experiences as well as the changes in American culture and choices as exampled by the candy industry.I have recommended this book to people of all ages and no one has found its content objectionable. The consistent feedback from those who have read Candyfreak is that it is fresh, funny, and poignant, without being maudlin. These days, when the new non-fiction section is dominating by heavy, monolithic chronicles and political slams, Candyfreak stands out as a jewel of a book that is tasty on many levels and flavors. I think you'll enjoy very much.
Rating: 
Summary: I loved Candyfreak
Review: Yes, the book is just as much about its author as its subject. Yes, he does mention politics and refers to *gasp horror shock* marijuana use in at least one place, but to me that takes nothing away from its charm. The author is a funny guy, when talking about himself, others, candy, or even (very briefly) pot.
Reading about the small candy factories struggling to keep afloat and the people who run them was fascinating to me, even though I had never heard of most of candies before. I had no idea it was so hard to get candy on the shelves of grocery stores in this country.
A warning: This book has left me with a need to hunt down much of the candy in this book and try it, especially Valomilk. After I finished reading this book, I found a dusty more than half-forgotten childhood memory of eating Valomilks with my sister and discussing how silly the name is.
If they are as good as my six year old self keeps insisting they are to my thirty year old self, my new mission in life will be to eat as many of them as possible and become an unofficial, unpaid and unwanted spokesperson for Valomilk, shoving them on strangers and family members alike.
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