Pam Bachorz

Bachorz was born in 1973 in Salem, Massachusetts. She has written two speculative fiction novels for young adults: Candor, published in 2009, and Drought, published in 2011.[1] Candor, set in the near future, uses a trope common to horror in speculative fiction, that of a small town "malevolently under some kind of mesmeric or unholy control".[1] A review in Wired magazine described the book's fictional setting as one that would produce "Stepford children", children brainwashed into conformity via subliminal messages.[2] Its protagonist is Oscar Banks, whose father founded the town, and operates its system of indoctrination. Banks pretends to be a conformist, while covertly helping residents escape.[3][4] Banks encounters a new girl in town, Nia, who has a strikingly different personality, forcing him to decide whether to keep her in town to alleviate his boredom, or help her also leave.[2]

A review of the volume by Publishers Weekly called some aspects of the premise "difficult to swallow", but was positive overall, calling it a compelling story.[4] The Wired review similarly praised Bachorz's ability to keep the plot moving and build suspense, though it described the book as "not terribly deep", and with a larger quotient of romance than expected.[2] An essay in The ALAN Review commented on the varying motivations of the adults in the town; for Oscar Banks's father, brainwashing the children represents an opportunity for wealth, while for the parents, it is the idea of a "perfect family".[3] The book references several works of fiction that feature propaganda or psychological control, including Nineteen Eighty-Four and The Clockwork Orange, while its ending was described as resembling that of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which also explores psychological control.[3] Bachorz's second novel, Drought, is also set in a small and coercive community, which the protagonist seeks to escape.[1]

• Candor (2009, EgmontUSA, ISBN 978-1-6068-4012-2)
• Drought (2011, EgmontUSA, ISBN 978-1-6068-4016-0)

• Author's website