THE CHOCOLATE WAR appears on almost every list of good books for teens. After reading the book, I have concluded that the people who compile those lists wish to undermine all Biblical values. The book tells the story of a boy who refuses to sell chocolates at a Catholic school. The student body, with the assistance and encouragement of the priests, haze him mercilessly until he lands in the hospital. There is no resolution. The book is vulgar, profane and anti-authority. There are no sympathetic characters. Everyone is either evil or backs down in the face of evil. Even the boy who won't sell the chocolate is rebelling for the sake of rebelling. He has no purpose to his actions.

In the edition I read, the author added an introduction. He says the story is based on his own son, who refused to sell chocolate in his school. It's not surprising that the son of the man who could write this book would be a rebel. The author goes on to laud the many students over the years that have protested the "censorship" of this book in their schools.

My opinion is that you should only read the book if you would like an education in Postmodernistic thinking and the chaos that results.