al-daraweesh

CANDOR by Pam Bachorz is a a captivating story of a teenage Oscar who lives in a stepford-like, cookie-cutter town in Candor, Fl. What makes Oscar special is that his dad is the founder of the Utopian town, but better yet, is the creator of a new auditory addiction, a brainwashing technique that has the whole town running smooth and perfect. Except Oscar knows how the system works and uses it to his advantage until a girl, Nia, shows up who is spectacular and different, who grabs a hold of his heart. What would Oscar do for love? What would he sacrifice to keep a little spec of originality and brilliance in Candor alive? Read it and find out. Some (and I do mean SOME) of the dialogue especially Oscar’s felt unrealistic and even whiny. I would have also liked a few parts to be delved into a bit more. For example, I wished Campbell would have had more of a presence and Oscar's mom's story elaborated on. But overall, CANDOR is a thrilling and exciting read and with each short chapter the story drives you forward and doesn’t let you take a break. A snarky and witty Oscar and clone like kids keep you laughing despite their ‘unoriginality’. The drone like redundancy is thrown in at the perfect times giving CANDOR a witty humor that is seldom seen in such serious teen fiction. But despite its few flaws CANDOR is a sweet love story and I recommend this to anyone who loves snarky, witty boys and male POV narration. Go pick up a copy and see how far Oscar really goes.

2022-11-14 17:06