Candy Girl by Diablo Cody

This may not be for everyone, but those with open minds will enjoy Candy Girl: A Year In The Life Of An Unlikely Stripper, the witty memoir from Diablo Cody, the screenwriter of the films Juno (which won an Oscar, a BAFTA, Independent Spirit, and Writer's Guild awards for best screenplay), Ricki and The Flash, Young Adult, and the TV series The United States of Tara.

Moving to Minnesota from Chicago to be with her boyfriend when she was 23, Diablo was working as an advertising proofreader with a personal blog. Fascinated by the mystery of a strip club, on a whim she entered an amateur strip night (in a club that takes all comers), enjoyed it, and soon began doing it regularly. Her sharp, sarcastic wit really gives you the low down of what these clubs are like and both how the women work the system and how the clubs work them. The percentage paid for lap dances and the quotas you have to meet or get fired was surprising. She moves from bar clubs to the classiest upscale clubs, and even works a peep show booth at ShowWorld. This was all OK with her boyfriend, natch.

If you have ever wondered what these establishments are like behind the twinkling lights and neon, Diablo paints a clear picture of the makeshift dressing rooms, the hours, and the stamina/focus needed to make it as an exotic dancer. It was a year-long walk on the wild side that for a while took over her daily life - awkward when co-workers visited the club - and in the end, her blog morphed into this memoir.

Eye opening and wickedly funny.

Diablo Cody is the pseudonym of Brook Busey-Maurio.

2006 / Tradeback / 212 pages