The Chocolate War

Description for THE CHOCOLATE WAR by Robert Cormier:

Stunned by his mother's recent death and appalled by the way his father sleepwalks through life, Jerry Renault, a New England high school student, ponders the poster in his locker---Do I Dare Disturb The Universe?

Part of his universe is Archie Costello, leader of a secret school society---the Vigils---and master of intimidation. Archie himself is intimidated by a cool, ambitious teacher into having the Vigils spearhead the annual fund-raising event---a chocolate sale. When Jerry refuses to be bullied into selling the chocolates, he becomes a hero, but his defiance is a threat to Archie, the Vigils, and the school. In the inevitable showdown, Archie's skill at intimidation turns Jerry from hero to outcast, to victim, leaving him alone and terribly vulnerable.