Title: The Chocolate War Author: Robert Cormier
Publish Date: 1974
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pages: 271pp
ISBN: 0394828054
Classification: Fiction
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Range: 12 and up
Amazon: $8.95
Annotation: Jerry Renault is the new kid at an all boys Catholic high school. In efforts of fitting in, he joins the football team and accepts an assignment from the “Vigils”, a secret society to not sell chocolates for ten days. He decides not to sell chocolates at all, throwing the long established rules and traditions of Trinity and the secret society the “Vigils” into a chaos.
Summary: Jerry Renault is the new kid at Trinity High School. His mother has passed away and he is finding it hard to connect with his father. Being the new kid, Jerry wants to fit in so he joins the football team and accepts the “assignment” of not selling chocolate given by the schools not-so-secret society the Vigils. When this assignment disrupts the profit the temporary head master brother Leon was expecting to make, Jerry finds himself in the middle of a power struggle between brother Leon and the schools secret society the Vigils. “Do I dare disturb the universe?” Jerry decides to be defiant and continue to not sell the chocolates in which leads to a chain of events where corruptions and evil reign.
Evaluation: My first impression with Jerry, or maybe Robert Cormier, is that he ended up becoming cynical—a message that was hard for me to sink my teeth into. I loved the steady theme of “dare to disturb the universe,” and when I got to the end I was sort of left puzzled. In some way, I understand why Jerry became cynical—clearly disturbing the universe did not work for him, but to just give up on that notion was a little heartbreaking for me to take in.
Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness:
- Standing up for what you believe in.
- Being bullied.
- Having one parent who isn't very present.
Reason this book was chosen: Besides this book being on my required reading list, I was attracted to the major theme of daring to disturb the universe. I am also highly interested in storylines that include secret societies and the manipulations that go along with them.
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The novel has been adapted into a film. Click HERE for more details.
