Product Description

IN 1974, AFTER SUFFERING rejections from seven major publishers, The Chocolate War made its debut. An uncompromising portrait of conformity and corruption, it quickly became a bestselling—and provocative—classic for young adults.

“Masterfully structured and rich in theme; the action is well crafted, well timed, suspenseful.”—The New York Times Book Review

“The characterizations of all the boys are superb.”—School Library Journal, Starred

“Compellingly immediate. . . . Readers will respect the uncompromising ending.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred

An ALA Best Books for Young Adults

A School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

A Kirkus Reviews Choice

A New York Times Outstanding Books of the Year

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5499 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-14
• Released on: 2004-09-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Amazon.com
Does Jerry Renault dare to disturb the universe? You wouldn't think that his refusal to sell chocolates during his school's fundraiser would create such a stir, but it does; it's as if the whole school comes apart at the seams. To some, Jerry is a hero, but to others, he becomes a scapegoat--a target for their pent-up hatred. And Jerry? He's just trying to stand up for what he believes, but perhaps there is no way for him to escape becoming a pawn in this game of control; students are pitted against other students, fighting for honor--or are they fighting for their lives? In 1974, author Robert Cormier dared to disturb our universe when this book was first published. And now, with a new introduction by the celebrated author, The Chocolate War stands ready to shock a new group of teen readers.

From AudioFile
Thirty years ago, Cormier wrote a powerful tale of conformity, mob rule, and moral weakness that has become a classic. Jerry Renault, freshman at Trinity Academy, hangs a poster with the question "Do I dare to disturb the universe?" in his locker. The school, run by Archie Costello and his disciples in the secret Vigils club, is a place of cruelty and brutality. Costello manipulates students and faculty alike with impunity, and the silent majority is just grateful not to be targeted. Frank Muller narrates the story with an intensity that makes all the events feel like a matter of life and death. In this anniversary audio production, the universe is again disturbed, and we realize that not much has changed in the last thirty years. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
"The Chocolate War is masterfully structured and rich in theme; the action is well crafted, well timed, suspenseful; complex ideas develop and unfold with clarity."-The New York Times Book Review

"The characterizations of all the boys are superb...  This novel [is] unique in its uncompromising portrait of human cruelty and conformity."-School Library Journal, starred review

"The novel is cleverly written with a good sense of the realistic and a good ear for dialouge, qualities which will attract any reader."-Bestsellers

"Robert Cormier has written a brilliant novel."-Children's Book Revie Service


From the Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews

Warning to Teens Welcome to America
Brilliant & disturbing warning of the horrors of American life.

Yes, horrors.

Should be read by all thoughtful teens.

Disappointed by poor writing
Another in the group of young adult books I bought for my wife to help her develop her reading skills before we get to the states and she has a go at attending college in America.
I had my doubts about this one when I picked it on Amazon, but it sounded kind of interesting in a "Dead Poet's Society" meets "1984" kind of way, and I gave it a shot. It was a disappointment.
For such a simple story, it seems that it would be easy enough for the author to execute one of the most basic tasks of novel writing: resolving the conflict in a way that effects a change in the main character. With The Chocolate War, however, Robert Cormier has not only failed to make a change in his main character - he has failed to even choose a main character.
** This review may spoil the novel a bit if you read further.**
That is, the author tries to have his cake and eat it too by maintaining two main characters - Archie and Jerry - throughout the entire book. Instead, however, he simply ends up with a big cake-y mess at the end, where nothing changes, the main characters engage in some final meaningless self-reflection, and the reader hardly cares.
The real disappointment is that there were multiple entry points in the final few chapters where the author could easily have chosen an effective outcome. Obie's anger, Carter's violent jealousy, Janza's self-doubt before it all gets started, the black box, Leon's mysterious presence, and even Brother Jacques' cutting the power - any of these points could have lead to a more satisfactory resolution. But each of these points passed by quickly, as if the author were afraid to take up the task of resolving the story in favor of one group or another and instead simply let things peter out with no resolution, no epiphany, and indeed, no point in having read or written this story at all.
Don't get me wrong. I don't think that all novels need to follow cookie-cutter patterns, and I see nothing wrong with leaving some loose ends or some ambiguity about the characters' futures. But my final summary of this novel is that Robert Cormier had an idea one day and started writing about it, and then one day he kind of ran out of ideas, and at that point he stapled on the back cover and published the book. That's not post-modern or exploratory or playing with the medium of the novel - that's just bad writing. Not recommended.

I despised this book and I don't care for Robert Cormier
I would think that having some perspective on the world would help me to think more kindly on this book, but it doesn't. I read this book when I was in junior high school, a time when I should have been able to better relate to it. But I couldn't. The characters were flawed, yes, and that's fine, but I couldn't grasp anything redeemable about them either. Cormier's depiction of male teenage masturbation is something he seems a little too fond of, and is referenced several times throughout. Sure a young man's sexual awakening is an awkward and uncomfortable thing to address, but was it really necessary to address it that many times. Once is plenty. The Chocolate War isn't the only title that Cormier seems to favor referencing this as well and I also remember an interview that we read after having (unfortunately) read several of his other books, in which he said that in this title he had an entire chapter in which one of the characters masturbates and thinks a little bit. He decided to cut it out when he realized that it didn't help further the story along. This book also dealt with football. Now as I am not all that interested in sports or competition, it comes as no surprise that this was a book that was difficult for me to get through. But that is not to say that I wouldn't like it. Look at my review for Wait 'Til Next Year. That book was told in the language of baseball, and I loved it! But this book didn't win me over and neither did After the First Death. Robert Cormier is an author that I don't care for, and I honestly wonder if his books are geared towards young readers, or his way of working out some form of sexual repression for teenage boys.