Candor by Pam Bachorz

Summary:

Oscar Banks has everything under control. In a town where his father brainwashes everyone, he's found a way to secretly fight the subliminal Messages. He's got them all fooled: Oscar's the top student and the best-behaved teen in town. Nobody knows he's made his own Messages to deprogram his brain. Oscar has even found a way to get rich. For a hefty price, he helps new kids escape Candor, Florida before they're transformed into cookie-cutter teens. But then Nia Silva moves to Candor, and Oscar's carefully-controlled world crumbles.

Review:

After seeing this featured on the 2009 Debutantes site a while back, I just knew I had to get my hands on a copy. Since, for one, I love these whole dystopian type novels, especially this one for being scarier then others. And for two the cover is awesome. Luckily, Candor is a perfect mix of scariness, mystery, and romance with an added twist of a villain like dad.

The premise which Candor is passed on was unique and cool, one being something that I could definitely happening in the future. It was interesting to see how Candor developed from "subliminal messages" ones that told you whether something was right or wrong and when it was wrong it stopped you from doing it.

Oscar was a character that I liked and often felt sad for because of his distance relationship with his dad, his non present mom, and missing brother. Though, I felt that when it came to the start of his relationship with Nina, he was a bit childish. Since, one of the main reasons he became first interested in her, was because she was different from the rest of the cookie cutters and a girl his father would detest. But after a while it became clear that even if it he had some iffy intentions at first, he still loved her with all his heart by the end and the same goes for her with him.

The plot was well developed in this book making it a fast paced read, one with few faults and lags. Plus, I promise you, that the ending will take you for a total surprise.

Overall, Candor was a fantastic debut and if this a introduction of what's to come to Egmont, I certainty look forward to reading more of their novels.

Grade: A

Candor will be released September 22nd by Egmont. Be sure to also check out Pam Bachorz's awesome site, here, as well as the book trailer below:



* Much thanks goes to Pam as well as Egmont's publicty team for sending me a copy of this book! :)