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Reviews'Candor' fails to break free from the typical dystopian plot Date published: 11/27/2009
BY EMILY CHURCHILL It's a perfect city with a terrible reality. None of its people can think for themselves. Subliminal messages hidden in music drones on for 24 hours a day, telling everyone how to act. No one is unhappy and nothing ever goes wrong. Wait this sounds familiar. "Candor," by Pam Bachorz, is a yuppie, fast-and-easy version of every dystopian novel in existence. We start with our protagonist, Oscar Banks. He's a good, law-abiding boy, a model citizen. To the rest of the world, he seems normal. Only, of course, he knows the secret: All of his neighbors in the lovely town of Candor have been brainwashed into anonymity. The people who moved to Candor turned from "average Joes" to happy, dumb clones united on making Candor the best place on Earth. Luckily for our boy, Oscar has trained himself to think freely by listening to self- made messages, a kind of reverse-brainwashing. Oscar takes it upon himself to save fellow teens from Candor before they become one of them. Through a black market, he ferries a few lucky survivors back into the real world to build their own existence. How kind of him. Nothing comes without a hefty price, though. Soon, Oscar runs across the new girl, Nia. As is the general way of these things, they fall in love. Oscar is determined to protect his lady love--but alas, Nia is a bad girl by Candor's standards. It takes everything Oscar can do to keep his secrets protected and also to keep Nia out of the Listening Room (a frightening punishment for those who dare to bend Candor's standards). As friendship is tested and trust becomes a luxury, the sickeningly obvious ending draws closer and closer. If you like well-written books about oppressive societies and conspiracies with endearing characters, I would suggest another trip to the library. However, if you are just looking for an easy, mindless read that might make you thankful for what you have, "Candor" could just be the book for you. Emily Churchill is a junior
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