The Chocolate War

Reissued now in hardcover with a new introduction by the author, Cormier's chilling look at the insidious world of gang intimidation and the abuse of power in a boys' boarding school is no less relevant today than it was in 1974.

Stunned by his mother's recent death and appalled by the way his father sleepwalks through life, Jerry Renault, a New England high school student, ponders the poster in his locker - Do I dare disturb the universe?

Part of his universe is Archie Costello, leader of a secret school society - the Virgils - and master of intimidation. Archie himself is intimidated by a cool, ambitious teacher into having the Virgils spearhead the annual fund-raising event - a chocolate sale. When Jerry refuses to be bullied into selling chocolates, he becomes a hero, but his defiance is a threat to Archie, the Virgils, and the school. In the inevitable showdown, Archie's skill at intimidation turns Jerry from hero to outcast, to victim, leaving him alone and...

Some parents found Robert Cormier s unsparing, sometimes brutal young adult novels too shocking, but his critics and readers alike loved them for their honesty, their integrity, and their refusal to sugar-coat or evade real issues for a young audience. Cormier was one of the first writers for young adults to introduce and discuss controversial subjects in his books.