by Pam Bachorz
ages: 14+
First sentence: “Ca-chunk, ca-chunk, ca-chunk.”
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Review copy given to me by the author.
There’s perfect, and then there’s Candor.
Perfect houses on perfectly manicured lawns, full of perfect parents and perfect children all doing perfectly respectable things. And it’s desired: the waiting list to get into the community is over a year long, because once you move into Candor, you don’t move out. It’s not just that you don’t want to, it’s that you can’t. No, there’s no fences; there’s something more sinister holding you there: subliminal Messages piped into all the music that’s constantly running throughout the town, all day, all night. Messages training you to do perfect things, say perfect things, be perfect people.
Except for Oscar Banks, son of the town’s founder.
He’s figured out a way to get past his father’s Messages, and knows how to create his own. He uses this knowledge to help smuggle teens — ones old enough to survive on their own — out of Candor. Not out of the goodness of his heart; no, he’s making a bundle on this, all squirreled away in a nice offshore account. He’s the perfect kid by day, rebel — complete with a shed full of magazines, candy and liquor — by night.
And then Nia moves in. Oscar is immediately attracted to her: she’s everything that Candor is not. Free, artistic, fun, slightly dangerous. He wants to help her, and yet can’t bring himself to tell her everything. It’s a long, slippery slope, one that, ultimately, Oscar finds he can’t control.
It’s an intense book, one that looks at the danger of conformity as well as the meaning of freedom. There’s not a wasted word or scene; everything builds upon everything else leading toward the inevitable conclusion, the one which you hope won’t come, and yet expect all at the same time. The tension between being human and being perfect was palpable throughout the book, which just added to the intensity.
It’s also got one of the best bad guys to hate: Oscar’s father is quietly evil, doing what he deems to be “right”, and yet you just want to yell at (or possibly) kill the guy. I don’t think I’ve had this strong of a reaction to a character in a very long time. Oscar’s father. is. evil. As for the rest of the characters, they range from the pathetic — Sherman — to the creepy — Mandi. The only one I felt was truly “real” was Nia. Perhaps, though, that’s the way we’re supposed to feel about them.
At any rate: an excellent story.
The Book Nut 
I've seen this before but never knew anything about it. Sounds amazing!
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Definitely looks like a great read! I've seen it at quite a few sites, but like Amanda said, I just had almost zero idea of what it was about exactly. Thanks for the great review!
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I thought this book was astounding, but my husband just finished it, and took forever, and said at the end, “Meh.” What?! I didn't want to put it down when I read it, and I, too, was overwhelmed with terrible feelings about his father. I thought it was a brilliant concept and sharply written in a believable teenage voice.
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I'm in the middle of this one. The start was a bit hard for me to get into, but I'm liking it now.
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I read this and thought it was excellent. I agree that Oscar's dad was evil, but I don't tend to think too highly of his mother, either, who left Oscar there. I expected some kind of resolution in regards to her, since he seems to think she was able to survive her departure, and hope with Nia's ambiguous response to Oscar that there will be a sequel. Probably wishful thinking…
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This was a quick read for me, I really liked it too 🙂
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Quite a book, wasn't it? I didn't have the same visceral reaction to Oscar's dad. I could see how he thought he was doing the right thing. Is there anything as scary as someone doing terrible things for the right reasons?
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I'm sad that Bachorz isn't writing a sequel to this one. I mean, I know not every book needs to be one in a series but Candor is a prime candidate for it. I really would like to see where Oscar, his father and Nia are a bit further down the road. Particularly given how the book ended for Oscar.
A great read!
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Read this last night, and I can't stop thinking about it. The evilness of Oscar's father is truly horrifying. I'm also not so settled in my mind about his mother. Nia was my favorite character, but Oscar is so wonderfully complex and damaged. I agree that the novel was very well executed. (And since I read it before going to bed, I actually rewrote the ending in my dreams!)
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