The Chocolate War (Readers Circle) | Robert Cormier

The Chocolate War (Readers Circle) | Robert Cormier | This Chocolate Isn't Sweet, but It's Very, Very Strong

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The Chocolate War ...

	The Chocolate War (Readers Circle) Robert Cormier Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2004 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 377 reviews view larger image
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The Chocolate War Review

The book The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier is a chilling story about a school wide chocolate sale and how a secret school gang takes advantage of it. The school gang is like a secret society that controls the school. Throughout the book, the gang called the Vigils takes advantage and destroys the boy named Renault. This book displays how secret societies have a big hand in some things. The author created the most sinister and unfeeling character named Archie Costello who is the ring leader of the Vigils and the school. He has the quality of some of the more sinister politicians today, because he can manipulate thoughts, control people and lie blatantly in your face no matter who you are. The author gives this a surprisingly sad ending where Renault is nearly killed and Archie the Ring leader of the event got away unscathed. The author is conveying that the one who speaks up from the crowd is the one who can get hurt the most. This is a dark and powerful idea/thought that is very true and I understand his meaning if he intended it or not. I would recommend this book because it is not your average book because it is thought provoking and keeps you reading to see what the Vigils will do next.

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This Chocolate Isn't Sweet, but It's Very, Very Strong

Robert Cormier introduced this book in later editions by saying that he didn't write it as a young adult novel--he just wrote it, and that's how it got picked up. A lot of parents, teachers, and defenders of organized religion HATED this book because of its supposed corrosive influence on young people. Well, I'm a teacher and a supporter of organized religion, and though I don't necessarily think this book's audience is limited to young adults, I do think it is an absolutely incredible (if cynical) work of literature. I came to this book as an adult, and I was blown away.

Jerry Renault is a normal Catholic school kid, struggling to get over the death of his mother, make the football team, and survive the normal, terrible pangs of adolsence. He's accosted by the Vigils, a secret society of students inside Trinity School that serves only to torment and upset the balance of the school universe. They assign jobs to younger students, tasks that require them to do things that are immoral, uncomfortable, and counter-authority. In Jerry's case, this means a simple (?) refusal to participate in the annual school fundraiser: selling chocolates.

The only problem is, EVERYONE sells the chocolates, and this year, the overly ambitious Brother Leon has staked his job and the school's finances on this sale. What follows is a colossal battle of wills that is waged on three fronts: Jerry, the school, and the Vigils. The eventual outcome is brutal, heartrending, and fundamentally counter to any established expectation one may have while reading from the young adult market. Even the movie--which got an R-rating--didn't have the stomach to represent the ending in all of its unapologetic nastiness.

Some may forget that William Shakespeare built a career on this kind of total story collapse. It's called tragedy. And in THE CHOCOLATE WAR, the genre is rendered beautifully for a modern audience.

(This review has been posted by Marcus Damanda, author of the vampire book "Teeth: A Horror Fantasy.")

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Hard stuff; nevertheless should be read by...

...middle schoolers and discussed with parents and peers BEFORE moving into high school...I've been out of high school over thirty years but still recognize people and situations that I had to deal with totally unprepared...and I suspect from what I've read and seen reported that high school probably is worse now in even more respects than what I experienced...

reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

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