Chocolate, bullying and teenage boys

“They don’t want you to do your thing, not unless it happens to be their thing, too. It’s a laugh, Goober, a fake. Don’t disturb the universe, Goober, no matter what the posters say.”
– The Chocolate War Pg. 248

I had heard a lot about The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier before I decided to read it for my reading goal. We had talked about it in my Teaching Young Adult Literature class as a book that is often placed on banned book lists. I wasn't exactly certain why it was such a controversial book but I also didn't have an urge to pick it up on my own. After resreaching for books that boys like, however, I discoverd that The Chocolate War was on several of the lists that I found.

Reading The Chocolate War was actually a very difficult process for me. The book focuses on the bullying that student endures at his highschool for refusing to take part in the annual chocolate sale. The bullying he experiences is overwhelming because it comes from both teachers as well as his peers. The book does not have a positive ending, leaving you feeling very hopeless once you put it down.

I would have a hard time recommending The Chocolate War for younger students but I think that older students could actually really get something out of it. I think it would work well as a literature circle book within a unit on bullying. It could bring up very good discussions about bullying and I definitely think that there are some male students who would really relate to the main character's struggles. I would be careful, however, to only recommend the book to students who I felt could handle the book's tough ending.