About the book
I met Sarah working at a candy shop in the mall, back when AIM away messages were practically a second language and I considered a well-timed song lyric a perfectly reasonable way to communicate my feelings.
We started as coworkers, spending our shifts goofing around, making each other laugh, and occasionally remembering we were supposed to be selling candy. Eventually, our friendship moved beyond the mall. There were sleepovers, long drives, late-night phone calls, and an alarming amount of cuddling for two people who were supposedly just friends.
At some point, I realized I was falling for her. Which was inconvenient, considering Sarah liked boys, and I had absolutely no idea what to do with the fact that I liked Sarah.
So I did what any emotionally well-adjusted girl in the early 2000s would do. I overanalyzed everything and told her absolutely nothing.
As we grew older, our lives changed, but my feelings had a frustrating habit of sticking around. And the more time we spent together, the harder it became to figure out where friendship ended and something else began.
The Candy Shop Girls is my story of growing up queer, falling hopelessly for my best friend, and navigating the wonderfully confusing experience of loving someone without knowing if she ever felt the same way.
