Wow, this was literally the fourth review that I wrote for this blog. I cannot believe how long ago it was, way back in 2016, when this was posted for the very first time. Candor by Pam Bachorz is a novel that I found myself really enjoying just before I started high school. It always seemed like a novel that needed a sequel, though one never came and I’m not entirely sure if the author ever intended to write one. But all the same, I enjoyed the twists and turns that the book took, leading me in all directions and the fascinating way that it ended. I wont get into emotions, however, since to say how I felt at the end of this novel would unquestionably give away what happens at the end of the book. Believe me, however, when I say that this one is well worth your time.
My mother once described Candor as a reimagining of The Stepford Wives, but with teenagers. I have to admit that now, after having finally seen The Stepford Wives many years after reading this book, I can’t help but agree. There are differences, of course, but a general premise of “the perfect wife” changed to “the perfect teenager” exists here. A plan orchestrated by a father whose wife walked out on him to control the only person left in his life, his son, soon becomes a business of selling parents the ability to reform their rebellious teenagers into becoming almost mindless machines that fit perfectly into a cookie cutter that they have built for them. And it’s all done through subliminal messages, which I think is a little bit of a stretch but was still fascinating and fun to read.
I wrote this review a long time ago, so bear with me if it’s terrible. I didn’t reread it when I went back to get the link for this feature, though I did edit in my usual links at the bottom of the page and change the title to match the titles I do now; it used to say Candor [by Pam Bachorz] (Review #4), which I now think looks ridiculous. And if, at the end of it all, you’re interested in checking this book out–which I dearly hope you are, because it truly is fantastic–feel free to click on over to Goodreads and check it out!
Reader Fox 