Cormier's The Chocolate War drowned me in its overload of social drama and its highschool battle of one students reputations put against another.
The theme the author tries to put out explains how wrong it is to mess with natural order. The schools notorious band of social pirates, The Vigils, though secret and rarely spoken of, are top dog in the social pyramid. If any request given to a student is denied, they have their ways of taking care of you. After Jerry Renault refuses to sell chocolates for the school funraiser, an idea originally thought up by the Vigils, he is pushed into an all out "chocolate war" that could ruin his days at Trinity.
One thing I do not like about the authors writing style is how he tries to enter a sense of humor into the book. The authors humor is not very good at all and my opinion completely goes against the theme the author also tries to put out, such as Janzas embarassment with Archie.
Jerry is a teen who tries to find a way to forget about his mothers death. Jerry tries this by entering football. Although he gets taunted by the coach for his small size, he refuses to give in and gets right back up after each knock down. Jerry's problems only get worse when he refuses to sell chocolates for the school fundraiser, which brings violent intentions to the Vigils and one of his teachers, Brother Leon.
The Goober, the only student who will help Jerry stand against the Vigils is also outcasted from all social groups. Goober's odd personality brings a little humor to the book and gives the main hero a little help along the way.
After the school sells all the chocolates, Jerry must chose to be with the Vigils, or continue to defy them.
I recommend this book to the young adult group. This book holds all the keys that would grip the mature teen yet enough vivid events to hook the adults too.
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