The Chocolate War

Title: The Chocolate War
Author: Robert Cormier
Publication date: 1974
Number of pages: 272
Genre: Young Adult fiction
Geographical Setting: New England (fictional Monument, Massachusetts)
Time Period: early 197os
Series: sequel Beyond the Chocolate War

Plot Summary: Jerry Renault is a high school freshman at the all-boys Trinity Catholic and has recently lost his mother to cancer. The secret society of The Vigils, made up of students, rule the school. The Vigils assign tasks of cruel pranks to students with no option to disobey. The acting headmaster, Brother Leon, has decided to secretly recruit them to help with the annual school chocolate sale. Brother Leon expects the students to sell much more than they had in the past in order to protect his overspending of the school budget for the sale. The Vigils assign Jerry to boycott the chocolate sale for ten days. After the ten days, Jerry decides to defy The Vigils, Brother Leon and the school by continuing his refusal to sell the chocolates. His defiance is not accepted lightly.

Subject Headings: bullying, hazing, Catholic school, defiance of authority, pessimism, individuality, peer pressure

Appeal: all-boys Catholic school setting, struggle to be an individual in the face of power structure of an institution, lack of parental involvement, often on banned books list, winner of several awards including ALA Best Books for Young Adults and a New York Times Outstanding Books of the Year, 1988 movie adaptation, book for boys, standing up to bullies, death of a parent to cancer

If you liked The Chocolate War, you might enjoy: William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies. Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak. Walter Dean Myer’s Shooter.