36 pages • 1 hour read
Wendy MassThe Candymakers
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2010A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 1, Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1: “Logan”
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary
Part one centers on 12-year-old Logan, who is the protagonist of the novel. He is the Candymaker’s son and has heightened senses that are fine-tuned for candy after living in the Life is Sweet candy factory his whole life. Logan is about to participate in the factory’s annual candy competition.
Three other contestants are coming to the factory to make their candy onsite, and Logan is nervous because he’s not used to being around other children. In the past, the factory used to host tours and annual picnics, which were Logan’s main source of socialization with the outside world. However, these events ended mysteriously.
Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary
Logan greets the three contestants who will be competing at the factory. Miles seems nervous, and Logan is “glad to see that someone else felt as shy as he did” (21). He thinks Daisy seems cheery and pretty, while Philip is rude. Logan excitedly shows them around the factory. Daisy, Miles, and Logan quickly bond over their love of candy, but Philip distances himself and makes rude comments.
Logan thinks about how he hopes to successfully create the “Bubbletastic Choco-Rocket,” (26) a candy he’s dreamt about inventing for years. He hopes it will win him the contest and admits he feels nervous about filling his father’s candy-making shoes. He’s up against “twenty-eight other young people across the eight regions of the country” (28), and he feels that his candy-making skills are inadequate.
Philip keeps writing down things in a notebook but keeps it private, while Miles keeps talking about the afterlife without explaining why. They also continue to tour the factory. Max, their guide, explains how the key to their delicious chocolate is the secret ingredient, but not even Logan knows its contents.
Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary
The contestants tour the candy factory. Inside the taffy room, Daisy easily pulls the taffy and demonstrates her strength. Miles keeps talking about the afterlife, and the other contestants think it’s strange. Philip writes secret things into his notebook, and the other contestants assume he's writing mean things about everyone.
They eventually reach the Tropical Room, one of Logan’s favorite places in the factory. Logan thinks about how one day he hopes “to work on the sapodilla” (50) tree. Of all the different positions in the factory, the idea of climbing high in the trees fascinates him the most. Max receives an alert that there is a problem with the honey, and everyone rushes to the bee room. The queen bee is dying, and the worker bees are too sad to produce honey. Logan has a special bond with the bees, and he encourages them to keep working.
Part 1, Chapters 1-3 Analysis
These chapters focus on Logan’s characterization, introduce the four contestants, and establish the setting. Logan is a complex character. He dreams of one day creating the world’s first candy that can morph back and forth from chocolate to gum, but he also aspires to work in the Tropical Room climbing trees. He wants to make candy, but he doesn’t feel confident in his abilities to execute the necessary steps. He wants to make friends, but he feels socially inadequate because he wasn’t raised around kids his own age. A lack of confidence prevents Logan from making his dreams a reality, and it makes him feel uncertain about his future.
The other contestants are introduced as having their own particular problems: Daisy is overly cheery, Miles seems obsessed with the idea of the afterlife, and Philip is rude and constantly jots secrets in his notebook. While the contestants seem divided by their quirks, the tour of the factory begins to bring them together. Logan, Daisy, and Miles grow closer as they bond over their shared love of candy. At this point, Philip remains distant towards the other contestants, but in later chapters, he too bonds with the other contestants.
The Life Is Sweet candy factory is the main setting. Logan’s relationship towards the factory is complex. He grew up in the factory and loves every aspect of it, but he also adores escaping the factory walls to be outside. He feels thankful to have grown up in the factory, but his unique upbringing has also meant that he’s been isolated from his peers. Seeing the way the other contestants are awed by the factory fills Logan with pride, but it also reminds him that he hasn’t had a normal childhood. The candy factory has meant various things to Logan throughout his life, but after the contestants arrive, the space becomes symbolic of friendship and personal growth.
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By Wendy Mass
