The Chocolate War

 Cormier, Robert. The Chocolate War. Laurel Leaf Books, 1974. 191 pages, $14.99 ISBN: 0440944597 (pbk.)

Plot Summary:

It all starts with the school’s annual chocolate sale and Jerry’s assignment from the school’s secret society, the Vigils.  Archie is the assigner for the Vigils, the one who comes up with all the tasks the society assigns to haze underclassmen.  Jerry’s assignment is to refuse to participate in the school’s annual chocolate sale for ten days.  This is plenty of time for Brother Leon, the teacher in charge of the sale, to learn to despise Jerry for his refusal to conform to school traditions.  After ten days Jerry is suppose to sell the chocolate, but he doesn’t.  Now Jerry is not just in trouble with his teachers, his is in trouble with the Vigils, who see his refusal to sell the chocolate as outright rebellion against them.  In turn, Archie comes up with every more imaginative ways to torture Jerry, culminating in a violent, public beating. 

Critical Review:

Bullying is an ever present theme in young adult literature, but few books portray the cruelty of teenagers as powerfully at Robert Cormier does in The Chocolate War. Cormier also reveals how much people can be scared of those who behave differently.  Brother Leon hates Jerry because he thinks Jerry is actively trying to sabotage his chocolate sale and the Vigils hate Jerry because he threatens the groups control over the student body and faculty.  If the rest of the student body realizes they can simply refuse to carry out the Vigils orders, they will lose all the power they have in the school.  Jerry does not see this though, he is simply trying to express his own identity and cannot understand why he should conform to everyone else’s expectations.

Genre:

Realistic fiction

Interest Level:

Grades 9 and up

Similar Books:

Just Another Hero Sharon Draper

Subjects/Themes:

Bullying

High school

Teenage boys

Annotation:

Jerry experiences vicious bullying at the hands of fellow students when he refuses to participate in the school chocolate sale. 

Book Talking Ideas:

The Chocolate War explores the darker side of human nature and the power behind a mob mentality.  Jerry finds himself pitted again his teachers and fellow students when he refuses to conform and participate in the school’s annual chocolate sale.  In response he is bullied relentlessly until someone finally takes things too far. 

Why I chose to include this book:

I included The Chocolate War because it is one of the most realistic and powerful accounts of the brutality of bullying.