This little quarter-sized zine packs a powerful whallop. Written by Jennifer, a confessed alcoholic who is just now realizing the scope of that addiction, the stories inside Candles for Girls range from unsent (or sent) letters to a list of reasons why she drinks. She includes mini-reviews of 'zines dedicated to alcoholism, and within its pages you can see the writer taking the first step toward working through her problem.

She's a strong writer with no fear of introspection, and it shows -- this will be an interesting title to watch in coming issues to see where it goes.

It's not all alcohol and angst, though. In the forty pages of C4G, you're also enlightened about other things -- such as how to properly finger a woman and a list of some of the writer's favorite vegan cookbooks. There's even a section of vegan recipes, for those just thinking about taking the plunge into a life with no animal matter consumed.

Visually, it's put together pretty well. There's a lot of variation from page to page, which lumps it under the 'zine format. Everything from bizarre clip art to original drawings to a lot of black-and-white photocopied photos of Jennifer herself grace its pages and decorate the words. My only complaint is that the first time through, I missed a few pages because of the irregular cutting -- some pages are hacked apart and stapled poorly, but I hasten to add that it does nothing to detract from the work itself.

There's even some Hello Kitty photo stickers from the booths they have at various malls -- a really cute touch that made me want to run out and pump some dollar bills into them to get some stickers of my own. (Those booths are on her "What Makes Me Happy" list about half-way through the content, too. I can see why.)

Overall, this is well worth the $1 or three stamps that it costs. There's enough content to choke a horse, and for $1, you can't find a better deal.

Send orders to Jennifer, c/o Candles for Girls, P.O. Box 2695, Madison, WI 53701-2695. Or you can email her at candles4grrls@hotmail.com to ask about distribution information.

[ by Elizabeth Badurina ]