The Chocolate War

Ratings31

Average rating3.4

Jerry Renault ponders the question on the poster in his locker: Do I dare disturb the universe? Refusing to sell chocolates in the annual Trinity school fund-raiser may not seem like a radical thing to do. But when Jerry challenges a secret school society called The Vigils, his defiant act turns into an all-out war. Now the only question is: Who will survive? First published in 1974, Robert Cormier's groundbreaking novel, an unflinching portrait of corruption and cruelty, has become a modern classic.

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Popular Reviews

Reviews with the most likes.

Blue sky, green trees.

This book reaffirms my belief in the horribleness of everyone.

July 21, 2010

EricSupporter

I remember this from junior high school being very good. I reread it early in college actually and still really liked it.

January 1, 1997

Chandler

Read in Arizona at the library

This book is charming and sheds a bit of light on boyhood. With sports, social situations, and girls, it is a delightful coming-of-age story. However, it also highlights how difficult it is to get out from under those in power. Power is everything. It's difficult to truly change a system and go against the current.

Quotes:
“Do I dare disturb the universe?
Yes, I do, I do. I think.
Jerry suddenly understood the poster–the solitary man on the beach standing upright and alone and unafraid, poised at the moment of making himself heard and known in the world, the universe.”

“They don't actually want you to do your own thing, not unless it's their thing too.”