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

Amazon.com Review
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.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.5 based on 375 reviews)

Catcher in the Rye meets the Lords of Discipline - Great Audio Version

Robert Cormier's cynical, sardonic, nihilistic language in the Chocolate War evokes Catcher in Rye. The story itself shares many of the same tensions and violence of Pat Conroy's Lords of Discipline. This is beyond a young reader's book. It has an edgy tension that will captivate all generations. Jerry Renault is a fine protagonist, somehow winning in spirit, even in despair. Archie Costello is an equally compelling villain - somehow apathetic and resigned, even in victory.

I listened to the Chocolate War unabridged on CD, narrated by George Guidall. Guidall gives a commanding and forceful performance, bringing tension and teenage fragility to all the fine characters.
September 20, 2008

Chocolate War

The book arrived in good time and was in good condition. I liked the book but the only reason I read it was to see why it is protested every school year by over sensitive parents. It is a book that even now can relate to pre-teen/teen boys.
August 26, 2008

principle before action

Supposedly, this is a young adult classic, but honestly, I'm not sure why. It's just not very good. Sure, it's controversial (the characters swear and think about masturbation a lot), but that's not a good enough reason for it to keep being assigned in schools.

Also, I think the thing that should make the book controversial is its portrayal of gross cruelty by students and certain teachers. Not that I'm worried that kids will suddenly become cruel just by reading this book (those who are going to be cruel tend to come by it naturally, after all), but if we're worried about exposing children to unsavory things, it ought to cruelty for it's own sake.

But what I really didn't like about this book was that although we're told there's a principle behind the actions of Jerry, who refuses to sell the chocolates, we're never told what the principle is. There's some suggestion that Jerry himself isn't really sure what his principle is, but in the context of the book, that's just not good enough.

It all started when Jerry is "assigned" by the Vigils (the school's student secret society, which doesn't actually seem to be much of a secret to anyone) to refuse to sell the chocolates for 10 days. He does (there's no suggestion that he even thinks about refusing the "assignment") but then continues to refuse to sell the chocolates after the 10 days are up, even after he gets another "assignment" that he start selling the chocolates. But why does he continue to refuse? Is it something about the chocolate sale itself, or is it about defying the Vigils? We don't know. The action of defiance seems to be more important than the principle behind it. I think Cormier got it backward.
August 23, 2008

Warning to Teens Welcome to America

Brilliant & disturbing warning of the horrors of American life.

Yes, horrors.

Should be read by all thoughtful teens.
July 23, 2008

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.
May 18, 2008

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

I Am the Cheese (Readers Circle)
by Robert Cormier

Monster (Amistad)
by Walter Dean Myers

The Outsiders
by S. E. Hinton

Speak
by Laurie Halse Anderson

Beyond the Chocolate War
by Robert Cormier