Name: The Chocolate War (Readers Circle)
Rating: 3.348484848484849 (33 reviews)
ISBN: 9780375829871

Robert Cormier

The Chocolate War (Readers Circle)

Emma Hak-Kovacs

A new sickness invaded Jerry, the sickness of knowing what he had become, another animal, another beast, another violent person in a violent world, inflicting damage, not disturbing the universe but damaging it.”

“He hated to think of his own life stretching ahead of him that way, a long succession of days and nights that were fine - not good, not bad, not great, not lousy, not exciting, not anything.”

Greg Talbot

Only slightly less controversial than "Catcher in the Rye", and maybe for similar reasons, The Chocolate War is a book I remember more for its controversay than its story. Having had a vivid memory of reading it, I decided to check out the YA book again, to see if it holds to my memory. And yes, the Chocolate War, a story about a prep school, it's fraternal hierarchy and the consequences of disobedience, is controversial. The swearing is minimal...the masturbation references are fairly veiled, but the book has a bludgeoning take on religion and a stark view on life. Bleak is the word that comes to mind with how pupils see their teachers, and teachers talk about the divine. Our protagonist Jerry Renault seems consumed by the petty trophies of adulthood, and he encounters the petty egos of his school community. The ending is disquieting, and not unlike other pieces of art that stayed with me like "Night of the Living Dead" or The Wrens "The Meadowlands". It's not that I didn't see the ending coming, but the whole book pushes this tension throughout to an inevitable chain of events. One of the things I always enjoyed about the book is how benign it could be. The boys sell chocolate to raise money for their school. One boy Jerry Renault chooses not to. He answers the T.S. Elliott quote that comes up throughout the story "Do I Dare Disturb the Universe". It's written on a poster in his locker. Through his eyes we witness the hazing, the bullying, the braccidaco, and general bullshit of fitting in with this football team. Truthfully I don't have a wide array of YA books that I have read...lets say some Harry Potter, Lord of the Flies, half a John Green book...but "The Chocolate War" does feel unlike anything I have read with its tone. Although I have a hard time buying into the petty motives of Brother Leon, or the head of the Vigils (a preppy gang of jocks? the football team?), there is an effective sense of dread throughout the book. It didn't remind me of high school, but it triggered some of the feelings of the high school experience - wanting to fit it, wanting to stand out, feeling insecure in sharing thoughts, overly masculine temperment. Cormier touches a nerve here, and it was at times an uncomfortable read. So if i'm honest I didn't love reading the book. I felt the story was largely taking place in a fictional world. I felt like the characters all needed more development. Our protagonist Jerry, who may as well be the reader, feels so hallow when it comes to knowing him. Consider him in comparison to Harry Potter, and all the lengthy descriptions of his behavior and personality. I think "lassitude" was the only vocab book I loooked up, so it was slightly dull reading it, at times. Still, "The Chocolate War", works the imagination about what it means to stand up, and the consequences of fighting for higher moral ground. It may well stay with you a long time, and may get into your skin, exposing all the charades of the ones we trust.

brother leon you will drop dead in 2 business days

EDEN!!!!!

Sarah Sammis

adria

This is the kind of book that makes you question everything,makes you woder how things really are. But that's no surprise. I gathered that from the premise, which is why I want into this novel with high expectations. And it did not dissappoint. I love everything about it. The writing style is just how I like it, the plot is simple enough,without being boring, and the characters are relatable. When I say I love everything about it, even the "villains", I do not mean that I admire them,or even that I approve of what they do. Not in the least. However, they are the kind of charcters that I love to hate, to be absolutely grossed out by. 
To me, this book is one of the few that I would not change anything about.

ruby may

A high-school freshman who refuses to participate in the annual fund-raising chocolate sale is forced to defend his convictions.

The Chocolate War

Erin Goss

Laura Mauler

Paula Plaza Ponte 

Martha F.

Hardy  Clervil

chelsea

Roy B Rowan

Traci Wilbanks

Derek

Fernando Bolaños

Destinee Kelly

Kerstin Cherry

Christine LuBean

Sarah Gerton

L A-T

The bestselling controversial novel about corruption and misuse of power in an American boys' school.The headmaster of Trinity College asks Archie Costello, the leader of the Vigils, a secret society that rules the school, to help with the selling of 20,000 boxes of chocolates in the annual fund-raising effort. Archie sees the chance of adding to his power - he is the Assigner, handing out to the boys tasks to be performed if they are to survive in the school. Freshman, Jerry Renault, a newcomer to the corrupt regime, refuses to sell chocolates. Enormous mental and physical pressure is put on him but he will not give in - the result is an inevitable, explosive tragedy.

The Chocolate War (Readers Circle)

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