Candor by Pam Bachorz

Candor

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.

At First Sight:
I've wanted to read this one for a while. It reminded me a lot of The Giver, one of my favorite books. And of course, the synopsis intrigued me. So when I had the chance, I picked it up and started reading it.

My thoughts:
In one word, Candor was scary. It was frightening everything that went on: how people turned so perfect, how there were subliminal messages, how it was wrong to do so many things. Even if the book started just a bit slow, it was surprising and sort of like a cultural shock to see it being developed that way.

The way Nia and Oscar's relationship progresses is almost hard to witness. We know in the deep down part of our heart that something isn't going to turn out right. These two people are in the constant look out.

But then something happens (I won't tell what) that leaves the reader so shocked that at one point, I was ready to stop the book. Nevertheless, I wanted to know what would happen, even if it seemed that all was lost.

The end of the book is sickening and perfect. It answers enough questions but leaves speculation, too. It was shocking (I know I'm using this word too much already but it was) and I kept thinking about it for days.

In One Sentence:
"Amazing and surprising, a book that encompasses it all."

Plot: 5
Characters: 5
Writing: 5
Cover: 5
Overall Feeling: 5
Average: 5