LoveReading4Kids Says
Every year, Trinity School runs a chocolate sale. Each boy volunteers to sell a quota of boxes. But this year it's different, because new kid Jerry Renault has refused to take part. This small act of defiance starts a chain reaction exposing the corruption running throughout the school.
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The Chocolate War Synopsis
The head of Trinity College asks Archie Costello, the leader of The Vigils, a secret society that rules the school, to sell 20,000 boxes of chocolates in the annual fund-raising effort. Archie sees the chance of adding to his power but newcomer, Jerry Renault, refuses to sell them. Enormous mental and physical pressure is put on him but he will not give in - the result is an inevitable, explosive tragedy.
The story continues in Beyond the Chocolate War. As the school year closes, many students look forward to leaving but Carter and Obie, leading members of The Vigils, can't contemplate the future until they have destroyed Archie Costello.
Robert Cormier's hard-hitting novels make compulsive reading.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780141324838 |
| Publication date: |
28th August 2008 |
| Author: |
Robert Cormier |
| Publisher: |
Penguin Books an imprint of Penguin Random House Children's UK |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
278 pages |
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About Robert Cormier
Robert Cormier (pronounced kor-MEER) lived all his life in Leominster, Massachusetts, a small town in the north-central part of the state, where he grew up as part of a close, warm community of French Canadian immigrants and lived with his wife, Connie, also from Leominster, and where they raised their three daughters and one son—all adults now. They never saw a reason to leave. “There are lots of untold stories right here on Main Street,†Cormier once said.
A newspaper reporter and columnist for 30 years (working for the Worcester Telegram and Gazette and the Fitchburg Sentinel), Cormier was often inspired by news stories. What makes his works unique is his ability to make evil behavior understandable, though, of course, still evil. “I’m very much interested in intimidation,†he told an interviewer from School Library Journal. “And the way people manipulate other people. And the obvious abuse of authority.†All of these themes are evident in his young adult classic and best-known book, The Chocolate War. A 15-year-old fan of Cormier’s told him, “You always write from inside the person.â€
In 1974, Cormier published The Chocolate War, the novel that is still a bestseller. Instantly acclaimed, it was also the object of censorship attempts because of its uncompromising realism. In a front-page review in a special children’s issue of The New York Times Book Review, it was described as “masterfully structured and rich in theme,†and it went on to win countless awards and honors, was taught in schools and colleges throughout the world, and was translated into more than a dozen languages. I Am the Cheese followed in 1977 and After the First Death in 1979.
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