The Chocolate War

Cormier, R. (1974). The chocolate war. New York: Dell Laurel-Leaf. Jerry Renault is a freshman at Trinity High School, an all-boys Catholic school. After suffering the loss of his mother he feels lost and struggles to find himself. He is inspired by a poster that says, “Do I dare disturb the universe?” Jerry then becomes part of the Vigils, a secret student society, and is instructed by their leader Archie not to participate in the school’s annual chocolate sales for 10 days. After the 10 days, inspired by the quote on his poster, Jerry decides to refuse to sell the chocolates. The Vigils didn’t like Jerry’s decision so they began to torment him. Eventually Archie sets up a fight between Jerry and the toughest boy at school Emile. Unfortunately, Jerry gets beaten up and hurt very badly so he is taken away in an ambulance. Although the novel is set in a Catholic school, students today can relate with Jerry and his decision not to sell the fundraiser chocolates. Teachers can use this novel to teach theme and character development. Students who enjoyed reading The Chocolate War will want to read the sequel Beyond the Chocolate War.