Candor by Pam Bachorz

Candor by Pam Bachorz

Hardcover, 256 pages

Published September 22nd 2009 by EgmontUSA

Reviewed from Library Copy

Summary:

In the model community of Candor, Florida, every teen wants to be like Oscar Banks. The son of the town''s founder, Oscar earns straight As, is student-body president, and is in demand
for every club and cause.
But Oscar has a secret. He knows that parents bring their teens to Candor to make them respectful, compliant-perfect-through subliminal Messages that carefully correct and control their behavior. And Oscar'' s built a business sabotaging his father''s scheme with Messages of his own, getting his clients out before they''re turned. After all, who would ever suspect the perfect Oscar Banks?
Then he meets Nia, the girl he can''t stand to see changed. Saving Nia means losing her forever.  in Candor, Oscar risks exposure . . . and more

    This was an unnerving read. Think Stepford Wives but with teens. As much as perfection is a social standard that we are often pushed to strive for, this book depicts why forcing it, is not a good idea. I had trouble connecting with Oscar initially- I think because I often read books where the main characters are girls. The male voice was a bit more challenging to relate to. When Nia arrived in Candor and started seeing Oscar- that was when the story picked up for me.

   Oscar's father, was awful. I just hated him and I desperately wanted him to see the damage he was doing to those families and children around him. I was just as angry with his mom for abandoning him in such a place. I think that well developed characters have the power to evoke strong emotions in the reader and I would say I felt very strongly about nearly all the characters in this story.

  The book did drag a bit in parts for me, as I grew frustrated with the characters acceptance of the status-quo, but the ending was definitely creepy......

Worth Reading.