Robert Cormier was among the first authors to write books for teens that respected them and didn’t talk down to them. That’s a major reason why these novels continue to stand the test of time. Cormier’s novels can be dark, but these are all rated as appropriate for ages 12 and up.
I Am The Cheese (4/5 stars, currently priced at $9.99)
Before there was Lois Lowry’s The Giver or M. T. Anderson’s Feed, there was Robert Cormier’s I Am the Cheese, a subversive classic that broke new ground for YA literature.
A boy’s search for his father becomes a desperate journey to unlock a secret past. But the past must not be remembered if the boy is to survive. As he searches for the truth that hovers at the edge of his mind, the boy—and readers—arrive at a shattering conclusion.
“An absorbing, even brilliant job. The book is assembled in mosaic fashion: a tiny chip here, a chip there. . . . Everything is related to something else; everything builds and builds to a fearsome climax. . . . [Cormier] has the knack of making horror out of the ordinary, as the masters of suspense know how to do.”—The New York Times Book Review
“A horrifying tale of government corruption, espionage, and counter espionage told by an innocent young victim. . . . The buildup of suspense is terrific.”—School Library Journal, starred review
An ALA Notable Children’s Book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Horn Book Fanfare
A Library of Congress Children’s Book of the Year
A Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award Nominee
The Bumblebee Flies Anyway (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $5.99)
They are all going to die. All of the patients at the Complex are terminal, with no hope of reprieve. But they’ve volunteered to come here, to this experimental clinic to allow themselves to be test subjects. Still, they’re all going to die.
All except Barney. Barney cannot remember much about his life before the Complex, but he knows that he’s there as a control. To see how the drugs being tested will affect a nonterminal patient.
And then they start testing a new drug on him . . . one that will affect his memory.
And Barney starts to remember things he doesn’t want to remember.
Fade (4/5 stars, currently priced at $7.99)
IT IS THE summer of 1938 when young Paul Moreaux discovers he can “fade.”
First bewildered, then thrilled with the power of invisibility, Paul experiments.
But his “gift” soon shows him shocking secrets and drives him toward a chilling act.
“Imagine what might happen if Holden Caufield stepped into H. G. Wells’ The Invisible Man, and you’ll have an idea how good Fade is. . . . I was absolutely riveted.”—Stephen King
The Chocolate War (3.5/5 stars, currently priced at $8.99)
One of the most controversial YA novels of all time, The Chocolate War is a modern masterpiece that speaks to fans of S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders and John Knowles’s A Separate Peace.
After suffering rejection from seven major publishers, The Chocolate War made its debut in 1974, and quickly became a bestselling—and provocative—classic for young adults. This chilling portrait of an all-boys prep school casts an unflinching eye on the pitfalls of conformity and corruption in our most elite cultural institutions.
“Masterfully structured and rich in theme; the action is well crafted, well timed, suspenseful.”—The New York Times Book Review
“The characterizations of all the boys are superb.”—School Library Journal, starred review
“Compellingly immediate. . . . Readers will respect the uncompromising ending.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Editor’s Choice
A New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year
Beyond The Chocolate War (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $6.99)
The school year is almost at an end, and the chocolate sale is ancient history.
But no one at Trinity School can forget the Chocolate War.
Devious Archie Costello, commander of the secret school organization called the Vigils, still has some torturous assignments to hand out before he graduates.
In spite of this pleasure, Archie is troubled that his right-hand man, Obie, has started to move away from the Vigils. Luckily Archie knows his stooges will fix that.
But Obie has some plans of his own.
Click here to browse the full catalog of Robert Cormier books.
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