Now you’ve read The Chocolate War. What do you read next? Here’s a short list with some suggestions for further reading. Some of these titles cover aspects of bullying. Some are about portraying the truth in the most honest and painful way possible. Some of them are about social dynamics and social truths. Some of them are all of the above. 

Part of why I wanted to put together this short list is because a number of books that more recent YA readers have come to know were inspired by Cormier’s classic, whether or not they were aware of it. In many ways, this book opened up a dialog about peer pressure, about conformity, and about the dynamics of relationships in high school in teen fiction and in teen lives. 

All descriptions come from WorldCat. I’d love to know of other books you see as strong read alikes to The Chocolate War, and I’d also love to hear about books that were definitely inspired by Cormier’s classic. Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Permanent Record by Leslie Stella: Being yourself can be such a bad idea. For sixteen-year-old Badi Hessamizadeh, life is a series of humiliations. After withdrawing from public school under mysterious circumstances, Badi enters Magnificat Academy. To make things “easier,” his dad has even given him a new name: Bud Hess. Grappling with his Iranian-American identity, clinical depression, bullying, and a barely bottled rage, Bud is an outcast who copes by resorting to small revenges and covert acts of defiance, but the pressures of his home life, plummeting grades, and the unrequited affection of his new friend, Nikki, prime him for a more dangerous revolution. Strange letters to the editor begin to appear in Magnificat’s newspaper, hinting that some tragedy will befall the school. Suspicion falls on Bud, and he and Nikki struggle to uncover the real culprit and clear Bud’s name. Permanent Record explodes with dark humor, emotional depth, and a powerful look at the ways the bullied fight back.

What was most interesting to me in my read of Permanent Record was how many allusions to Cormier’s classic were made. One of the teachers in Badi’s new school wanted to use The Chocolate War as a classroom read, but in the end, decided not to. And rather than fight administration about using it, the teacher decided to forget about it all together. Which an interesting message to compare to what happened in Cormier’s book. There’s also Badi, who refuses to sell chocolates to raise money for student organizations at his new school. Though his resistance and reluctance is much more in-your-face than Jerry’s ever was. There are some really fascinating aspects about identity in Stella’s book, too. Badi has to take on a new name when he enters a new school, thus hiding his ethnicity. Jerry, in Cormier’s novel, doesn’t hide who he is in the least. These two books would make for an interesting discussion for how much they are similar — but even more because of how much Badi and Jerry differ in their approaches to disturbing the universe.

The List by Siobhan Vivian: Every year at Mount Washington High School somebody posts a list of the prettiest and ugliest girls from each grade–this is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, and how they are affected by the list.

Why The List as a read alike? Well, it sure seems inspired by Cormier’s book in terms of bucking against school traditions. This book challenges the beauty myth and the tradition in Mt Washington High School which posts a list of the best looking and ugliest girls each year. This year’s nominees each have an opportunity to give their views of the issue and readers get to experience what happens over the course of this week to the girls and to their peers. Does the list disappear? Do people learn about what beauty is and is not? If The Chocolate War were recast with all females, I think this one gets it pretty close. It’s much less brutal, though, and much more internally and psychologically driven.

The Buffalo Tree by Adam Rapp: While serving a six-month sentence at a juvenile detention center, thirteen-year-old Sura struggles to survive the experience with his spirit intact.

I have to admit upfront I haven’t read this book. But it came up for me as a strong read alike because it’s a title that forces a main character to survive with his own sense of self and dignity while spending time in a place rapt with authority, power, and control. Knowing Rapp’s writing style, I am confident it is unflinchingly honest. Anyone read this one? I think I’m going to pick it up sooner, rather than later. 

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney: When Alex, a junior at an elite preparatory school, realizes that she may have been the victim of date rape, she confides in her roommates and sister who convince her to seek help from a secret society, the Mockingbirds.

Why The Mockingbirds? Well, we have a boarding school setting with authority that’s less interested in the best interests of the students and instead invested in the best face of the school and themselves. There’s vigilante justice here, too, though in Alex’s case, things pan out . . . a little bit better than they do for Jerry.

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson: After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.

It’s been a few years since I read Twisted, but what I remember noting is how it’s a story about what it means to be a male. What the power struggles are and what the challenges of defining yourself as masculine are. These themes are definitely huge in The Chocolate War and Anderson’s writing is, of course, not afraid to tackle the tough stuff. 

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers: Regina, a high school senior in the popular–and feared–crowd, suddenly falls out of favor and becomes the object of the same sort of vicious bullying that she used to inflict on others, until she finds solace with one of her former victims.

It’s hard not to see the parallels between what happens in Summers’s book about bullying and what happens in Cormier’s. Except, this time it’s about the power struggles among girls, rather than boys. It’s brutal and honest, and there’s not a hopeful ending or solid closure. Which is part of the honesty and part of Cormier’s book, too. Summers also does a good job of showing both sides of how girls are nasty with one another — the physical and the psychological. 

The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan: While preparing for the most dreaded assignment at the prestigious Irving School, the Tragedy Paper, Duncan gets wrapped up in the tragic tale of Tim Macbeth, a former student who had a clandestine relationship with the wrong girl, and his own ill-fated romance with Daisy.

Like the Rapp title, this isn’t one I’ve had the chance to read yet. But by all reviews I’ve spent time reading, it sounds like the tight community within the school and the social tensions/politics would make this a strong read alike. Not to mention the history of tradition. 

Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy by Emily Bazelon: Bazelon defines what bullying is and, just as important, what it is not; explores when intervention is essential and when kids should be given the freedom to fend for themselves; dispels persistent myths about bullying; and takes her readers into schools that have succeeded in reducing bullying and examines their successful strategies.

I read this one but can’t talk too much about it except to say it’s one of the stronger non-fiction titles exploring teen bullying and brutality I’ve read. It’s adult non-fiction but definitely has teen appeal, as it begins with three case studies of teens dealing with bullying in very different — very painful and real — ways. 

I could add many more bullying books, but I’m not because I don’t think that all bullying books are good read alikes to one another, nor are they all good read alikes to The Chocolate War. I am curious to hear, though, what you might think makes for a strong Cormier read alike or what books were clearly inspired by the classic. 

Ready to check out what foreign publishers have done cover-wise for Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War? Some of these are head scratchers and others are pretty darn good. As I mentioned in my prior cover retrospective post, it’s worth noting that researching the covers is a little challenging, so any errors are mine and mine alone. It’s especially tricky with foreign covers, but I’ve spent less time worrying about publication dates of these covers and instead think it’s more interesting to look at the designs themselves. Some of these might not be definitive foreign editions, and some of them might be older, rather than the most current version.

If you know of any other foreign editions or know of any further information on any of these covers, I’d love to know in the comments.

Let’s start with what might be my favorite vision of The Chocolate War cover.

This cover comes from China. I love the light blue background, but much more than that, I love how this plays into the fact Jerry is a football player. This cover model doesn’t look prep school, but he looks like an everyday kind of teen boy. But maybe what I love most is the look in his eyes. The boy looks determined but he doesn’t look like he’s out for any ill will, which is precisely how I read Jerry. Even though the cover itself feels light and looks light, I don’t read it as being a lighthearted book. I think it’s the look on the boy’s face and the fact he’s in his gear. I’m also digging on the way the author’s name and the title fill out the right-hand side of the cover. Since I don’t read Chinese, I have no idea what the tag line says on the left-hand side, but I like that it’s in red because it does stand out.

I would not mind having this book on my shelf. Even if I cannot read a word of it.

Here’s another light cover, though it certainly doesn’t read as light hearted. This edition is from Italy, and I kind of dig how it’s illustrated. We have the chocolate on the cover, though the chocolates are of the mixed variety, rather than the chocolate bar variety. The body lying down pretty well sums up the end of the book, and I think it’s interesting that he’s given pants and socks, but no shirt. Unless his shirt is white, but I think he has a belly button there.

I like the handwriting font used for the title, and I like how Cormier’s name looks. It’s a small thing, but it’s visually appealing.

Apologies for the pixilated cover, but it’s the best one I could find. This is the Greek edition of The Chocolate War and it sure has quite a bit going on for it. Or against it. We have the chocolate in the top left-hand corner, followed by a boy who sure looks dejected or frustrated — I can’t completely tell. And I don’t think he’s wearing a shirt. Then on the bottom, we get a boy engaged in a mean game of fisticuffs by himself. There’s also the black and white effect in part of the cover, then we have the gold taking up the majority of the image. I find the entire cover to be visually jarring. Actually, it looks almost more like a cover for a movie or a movie poster than a book cover.

When we get to the French cover, we’re back to looking at boys who appear very young for high school. Or I should say a single boy who looks way too young to be in high school, even as a freshman. But what is with that window in the background? Talk about a little foreboding. I think the most interesting element of the French cover though is how stark and simple it is. It’s almost entirely white. Is it me or does the boy look a little defiant, too? I like that. But this is not my Jerry.

Here are two German versions of The Chocolate War, and I think I like both of them, but for very different reasons. The cover on the left I like because I like the boys. They’re shadowy but they’re distinguishable. They also look a little sketchy and like they’re up to some trouble. Which totally fits the story. And even though it could look weird, I think the green hue on the cover works, as it contrasts nicely with the cream background.

Maybe someone who speaks German can enlighten me a little bit, since I don’t and don’t know, but the title for the cover on the right is a little different than the one on the left. Are they the same book or is one the sequel? I include it either way because I love the shadowy, chocolate-colored figure here. I love how big the image is, and I also like how there is still a shadow here. The second boy in the back has a shadow extending from his feet, but from the way the cover looks, it could be the shadow of the boy in front (depending on the angle of the light, of course). The cover looks a little scary and intimidating, which I think suits the book very well.

This is yet another German edition and yet another German edition that pleases me. I think it looks less prep school and more typical high school, but I love the motion of the image. In many ways, I feel the motion and blurred effect here mirrors much of the content of the book — what are the lines of being good and bad? What is right and wrong? Where do you stand up and where do you conform? I like that we can’t make out the boy’s face, but I do like that he appears to be of the right age, rather than so young like many of the other cover boys. The colors in this cover work for me too. I like the dark blue lockers and the red shirt, and the way both play against the greenish-creamy hues through the rest of the image. And what about the red, enlarged font for Cormier there?

The final two covers are Spanish editions.

On the left, we have so many interesting things going on. I love that it’s almost entirely black, but in the top corner, we see one of the Brothers. My guess is that it’s Brother Leon, but that’s up for debate. Then there’s the boy in the baseball cap in what looks like a picture torn out of a yearbook. But who is it? Also, who wears baseball caps in prep school like that? I would think it’s supposed to be representative of Archie, since he’s the rebellious one. Then there’s the logo and repetition of “Vigils” beside the image. Aside from the fact it’s a clear element of the story, what’s interesting in its use is that it’s in English. In translations, I know that proper names can often stay the same (since there’s not always a clear translation), but there is in Spanish. I’d be curious if it’s changed in text because it’s not on the cover. This cover is almost kind of cartoonish to me, though I do think it reads as a teen book.

Okay.

I saved the best cover to be the last one because I want you to look at it and think about it for a good long minute.

Why is there a girl on it? What boy in The Chocolate War spends any time with a girl? There’s a phone call, but that is the closest to a girl getting page time that there is. Certainly, no boy is walking with a girl like that in the story. So that it’s representative of the book on the cover is bizarre and noteworthy because it doesn’t even happen in the book. But aside from that strange choice in image, I love the illustrated effect. Except, doesn’t it make the book look like it’s almost a happy story? It certainly doesn’t have a darkness or a shadow lingering over it. The design definitely nails the prep school look but this cover doesn’t have anything to do with the book. Dare I say it looks almost like a romance?

Any other foreign editions worth knowing about? Have any favorites in this group or thoughts on any of these covers? I’d love to hear them!

Here’s a little fun. How many different looks does Cormier’s The Chocolate War have, anyway? The book first published in 1974, and it’s remained in print since then, with a number of different cover designs. Let’s talk a walk down cover memory lane.

Before I dive in, I want to note that it is really hard to research the covers of this book. There are many of them, and finding dates for when the cover first appeared wasn’t easy. So if there are big inaccuracies (and I am hoping there aren’t) or you know of additional covers, I’d love to know in the comments. Some of the dates I’m going to throw out are best guesses, too, based on the research I could tease out.

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Here’s our 1974 cover.

You might note that this is the same image that was used in the 30th anniversary edition of The Chocolate War, too. What’s interesting is how there’s really not too much about the cover: it’s dark, and there’s the ominous shadow of the boy on the cover. I do love how huge and almost foreboding the shadow looks, too. The boy himself appears young, too. But otherwise, this cover doesn’t tell the reader a whole lot about the book. It fits with what was in vogue in YA covers for the 70s (of what I’ve seen anyway) and it looks like the kind of book that could have a wide appeal to it.

On the left is a cover from the late 1970s, and it sure tells a different story than the original. First, the tagline is pretty great: “A compelling combination of The Lord of the Flies and A Separate Peace.” There’s also a blurb from The New York Times that calls the book “Masterfully structured and rich in theme.” And here we have boys with faces, all wearing some nice suit jackets, and they’re standing in front of what I assume is Trinity. All of the boys look high school age here, maybe even older. I can’t tell too well because of the cover’s size, but I could see the guy standing in the middle being an adult, even. He’s dressed a little more professionally. Perhaps one of the Brothers?

The cover on the right is one of the — if not the — original UK covers. I really dig the look on this because I feel like it conveys the story quite well. The boy’s dressed as though he’s going to a fancy prep school, and yet he’s disheveled like he’s scared or nervous or worried. Or all three. His back is against the wall too, which I think gets to the heart of the book without being too obvious or too symbolic. I think the boy looks kind of young for high school but I almost like that because it heightens those thoughts and feelings he’s portraying physically.

The 1985 UK edition of The Chocolate War offers up a boy who is giving the reader one of the fiercest looks I’ve seen on a cover. And that is in no way how I imagine Jerry looking, either. The cover model is a little too exaggerated for what image I have in my mind. But boy do I love that green jacket and pink notebook look going on here. Not to mention the very fitted jeans — I think it’s with what the style was at the time of publication.

Here’s where I wonder about my research on the covers. The one on the right is the cover I got with my ebook and which I know I had a few years ago in print. From what I researched, this was the 1985 cover, too. But there have been, as you’ll see in a bit, some additional cover choices between 1985 and today. Either way, this is probably my favorite of the cover renditions because I think it captures the feelings of the book perfectly. You get the prep school in the back, and it’s not a friendly-looking place (the cloudy background definitely amplifies that). Then you have Jerry on the left, with his button down and tie look, which is definitely prep school. This is how I picture Jerry in my mind, too: he looks like your average teen boy. He has the short, buzzed cut. He’s your everyday looking high school boy. Who is the shadowy figure on the right though? That’s where I like this cover a lot: it could be so many people. And it’s ominous and dark and just looming over Jerry. Plus, there’s the use of shadow and light, of black and white. It’s smart, simple, and gets to the point. Also, I think it’s pretty memorable.

The cover on the left is a 1988 edition. Talk about a very . . . representative cover. There’s Jerry (I’m assuming) buried beneath the weight of boxes of chocolate, while three boys make threatening and ridiculous faces and gestures in the background. I don’t know what’s going on with the guy on the far left because it looks like he’s got it out for the guy in the middle. I could make some guesses on who is who here, but it’s almost more enjoyable to take the image in as a whole. This book came with a tag line, too: “Can one small boy defeat the might of the vigils?” What’s maybe most interesting to me in this cover is that I don’t recall Jerry every being physically buried under the weight of the literal boxes of chocolate. I mean, it’s up to his chin!

In 1986, we had our first cover which alludes to the fact Jerry plays football in the story. Doesn’t he ever look sad in this one? He’s standing, surrounded by clouds, and there’s a school far in the background. While this is far from my favorite cover for the book, what I do like is that the shadow is there again. I like the play of the black and white and the shadow and light.

Here’s a 1991 edition from Britain, and all I can say is that it certainly dates itself. Why are the chocolates so many fancy shapes surrounding Jerry’s face? What’s going on in the background with his face, is it a really big shoulder (presumably shoulder pads with his football uniform) or is there just a chunk of white coloring beneath a chunk of dark blue coloring?

On the right, a 2001 paperback edition of The Chocolate War offers us something technicolored and out of the early 1990s. Why is the guy green here? And why does he have really long hair and look like he’s wearing something that would never fly in a prep school? I guess I’m glad we see the first, as if there really is a war to be fought. The chocolate-colored background is a nice touch.

The cover on the left is for one of the bindup editions out in the 2000s, so it includes both The Chocolate War and Beyond the Chocolate War. It’s pretty non-memorable and not noteworthy, though I like that it uses chocolate coloring, I guess.

But check out this cover for one of the Recorded Books editions of the book. Talk about prep school. Look at this proper young boys. None of them would ever be bad. None of them would ever do nasty things. They all look so, so innocent. And so YOUNG. No way those are high schoolers! But I do have my eye on the curly haired red head in the back on the right. He looks like trouble. I should note that none of these books looks a thing like what I imagined anyone in the book to look like.

I could find nothing about this cover, and I would love to know more. When I first ran across it, it didn’t make a lot of sense to me. Why a phone? Why is there a boy hiding in the background. But, after I read the book, this cover actually made perfect sense. The prank calling. The emotions expressed in the veiny arm itself. The way the phone looks like it’s being slammed down. Then the boy in the background, he looks a little scared or intimidated. But he’s not cowering. He’s not entered into complete fear yet. The color scheme on the cover makes me think this is an early edition — 1970s or 1980s — but I can’t find anything to tell me a definitive date.

Of all the covers, I think my favorite is the one that’s still around in print today, noted above. It seems most representative and most appealing to me. It has a timeless quality to it.

Do you have any preferences? Know of any other English (US, UK, or Australian) editions or have any dating information on these covers? I’d love to know.

And you better believe I have a post coming later this week with some of the amazing foreign editions of The Chocolate War that aren’t in English. There are some stark differences in what images are representative of the story elsewhere — some which are good and some which are all together misleading.