As a freshman at Trinity Catholic High School, Jerry Renault just wants to fit in. He tries out for the football team, hoping for acceptance, and pondering the quote on the poster in his locker everyday, "Do I dare disturb the universe?" However, lurking in the shadows is Archie Costello and the secret society, the Vigils, who run the school through Archie's intimidation. When the school's annual chocolate sale begins, and Brother Leon asks the Vigils for their support in the sale, they agree. Jerry, however, decides to defy the school, and the Vigils, refusing to sell the chocolates. According to Archie, his defiance needs punishment from the Vigils, punishment that will make Jerry never want to cross them again.

The Chocolate War is a novel that I've heard a lot about, being in the field of young adult literature, but one I've never gotten the chance to read until now. As one of the classics of young adult literature, I think it is important to see where the genre came from, and compare it to where it has come in the past 20 years or so. Overall, I thought it was a good piece of literature, with fleshed out characters and a plot that always kept me guessing, even certain parts were obvious. Cormier does a good job of capturing the peer pressure that so many people feel at this age through the character of Jerry, and though there might not be a secret society like the Vigils in every school, there is that one group of students that everyone is afraid of, the "in crowd." There was one issue that I had with the book, and it may stem from my study of LGBTQ inclusive literature in the past, but the part when Jerry is insulted by being called a "queer fairy." I know that this may stem from the time period that this was written in (the 70s), but it's things like this that help to perpetuate stereotypes. Aside from this fact, I thought that this was a good read, and definitely would prompt good discussion with others that have read it.

As for a classroom, this book could definitely be paired with another classic, or even used on its own in a classroom. Because of the complexity of the issues presented, and all of the philosophical questions presented, this novel would create good discussion among students. It's one of those novels that you want to discuss with others after you have read it, plus it is relatable to the majority of high school students. This is definitely a book to keep in mind when teaching young adult literature in the classroom.

Jeremy Heere considers himself the dork of the school. Everyday, he keeps track of his "humiliations," and pines after the beautiful Christine, the girl he can never have. He dreams of being Cool, being in the in-crowd...until one day, he is actually given the chance. At a dance, Jeremy hears about a pill called the "squip," a tiny supercomputer taken in pill form that is guaranteed to give you whatever you want in life. By taking instructions from the squip, Jeremy transforms from the geek of the school to the coolest guy in his class. But Jeremy will soon discover that there are consequences to handing over your life to a computer...consequences that Jeremy may not be ready to handle.

I picked this book up because I've read other things by Ned Vizzini, and this one seemed promising, and humorous, which was what I was specifically looking for. Vizzini really captures the average high schooler through Jeremy, a teenager who is afraid of fitting in, and pining after the girl he can never have. Even though Jeremy is almost constantly made fun of, he has a funny, sarcastic spin on life that I think many people would enjoy. And because a good majority of people went through that awkward high school stage, trying to figure out the opposite sex and what not, almost anyone could read this book and relate to Jeremy. That being said, the book was a little anti-climactic for me. From the back cover, I thought that something horrible was going to happen to Jeremy, something that would drastically alter his life forever. However, the traumatic event wasn't nearly as bad as I had originally guessed. Despite this setback, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and would definitely recommend it to others.

For a classroom setting, I don't think this book would necessarily work as a whole class novel, especially since there are a lot of mentions of sex and masturbation throughout the novel, not to mention a lot of drug use. However, this would be a good book to keep on the shelf for students who are looking for something funny to read, and something to relate to. It might be an interesting comparison to feed, to compare the differences between the computers in the heads of these teenagers.

This was a good introduction to the world that Shusterman has created, with elements that are eerily similar to our world now. The idea of unwinding is chilling and unsettling, as is the complacency that the US population seems to have. Shusterman's writing style is distinct, and worlds well for the dystopian genre, as he jumps between characters in order to give the reader the whole picture of the world.

Unwind was an enjoyable introduction that could have functioned as its own story, but the world is interesting enough to want to return to in the next books.

Read more of my thoughts on the series at between-the-shelves.com!