The Chocolate War

Why people recommend it

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier is a powerful and unsettling young adult novel that explores conformity, bullying, and systemic corruption at a private Catholic high school. On The Book Review in July 2014, a listener named David Eckles called in from Melbourne, Australia, to share that Robert Cormier's novel was the summer reading experience that completely changed his life, citing its profound impact on his adolescent perspective. Years later, on a July 2026 episode of Stuff You Should Know focusing on Judy Blume, co-host Josh Clark briefly mentioned the novel while reminiscing about influential young adult books from that literary era. Although Clark momentarily misattributed the author's last name before correcting himself, he nonetheless acknowledged The Chocolate War as a significant title from that period of adolescent fiction. These podcast segments illustrate the lasting cultural footprint of Cormier's uncompromising storytelling, which continues to resonate with readers as a transformative and challenging milestone in young adult literature.