Candor by Pam Bachorz - Review

Remember Stepford’s perfect wives? Well, in Candor everything is perfect, especially the teens who are respectful, study hard, finish their homework without being nagged, eat healthily, don’t graffiti, help at home. You get the picture. Does that sound too good to be true? It is – they are all controlled by subliminal messages. Only Oscar, son of the town’s founder, knows what’s going on and makes his own messages to keep himself immune -- and helps teens get away if they have enough money. He also keeps a perfect façade for his father until he meets Nia. And, as he falls in love with her, he can’t bear the thought of her changing and turning into just another Candor drone. And the question becomes: what is he willing to risk to help keep her as she is? And will she believe him?

This is a thought-provoking book that looks at how far parents will go to turn their troubled teens into model students. And forces us to take a long hard look at all the subliminal messages that surround us day to day. It brings up so many questions: How do we know that our thoughts are our own? Would we know if someone was subliminally influencing our decision-making through music or TV? What is special about us as individuals and how far would we change to please those around us? How long can you pretend to be someone you aren’t? And would we actually fight for the things we find special, for the people we care about?

This was a well written, fast-paced, and weirdly plausible story. I liked how rebellious Oscar was underneath his perfect veneer, the only real bad boy in Candor, and how so many people weren’t quite what you were expecting. This is a book to discuss.

Finally, just wanted to mention that it was published this week. And, oh, another great cover!