katekintailbc | Beyond the Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (Reply)

Beyond the Chocolate War
by Robert Cormier

I feel like I've been reading this book for months. Actually, for such a short book, it took a really long time for me to read it. This is probably because the print was so small and the story took some time to get going. Granted, the jumps from character to character kept me on my toes, but I kept forgetting which character was which, because it took weeks for me to get through this. In fact, when I picked it up on my Do Nothing But Read day, I started around page 30 after a month of attempting to read it a few pages at a time. I read for hours and then went on to read something else, having only gotten halfway through. After reading 3 graphic novels, I sat down to make a serious attempt at finishing--which I did finally. I think the problem was that there wasn't one overall project (like the chocolate sale) to tie everything together.

The reason I wanted so badly to get to the end was because I wanted that satisfaction that I didn't get from the first book. Cormier set us up to hope for certain characters to grow and change, but there wasn't enough time or opportunity for them to really change in the first book. This one picks up soon after the first book leaves off, and it does take the characters further--a lot further. Obie does something about the conscience that had been developing (MAN I loved Obie in this book). Jerry fights back in his own way. Goober does something to get rid of that guilt he felt at not helping Jerry the way he'd intended to. And Archie... Archie finally gets a little of what's coming to him--though it's not what I'd expected exactly.

This book's subject matter was raised a few notches above the original as well. Themes like murder, rape, and suicide and dealt with realistically and tragically. I was impressed and horrified at times by the storylines. But, mostly, I was glad to finally find out what happens to the characters from the first book and get the ending I needed after reading the first book. Thank GOODNESS for this sequel! It might have felt like work to me to finally finish it, but I'm glad I got a chance to.