Genre: Dark Modern Realistic Fiction (bullying, violence, corruption, cruelty)
Subjects: Young Adult Fiction - high school, social issues, peer pressure, coming of age
Audience: ages 14 & up
Jerry is a freshman at Trinity - a private all boys High school. He wants to be a football player and endures pain at the hands of fellow football players but he doesn't give up. He catches the attention of the Vigils - a clique that controls the student body at Trinity. The school is having a fundraiser to sell chocolates and the Vigils leader Archie tells Jerry to refuse to sell them. After ten days, Jerry is supposed to begin selling chocolates, but he decides not to sell them against the wishes of the Vigils and the Priests who run the school. The priests are in trouble because they spent unauthorized monies to buy the chocolate and they must sell them all. The other students begin to side with Jerry and not sell chocolate. The priests tell Archie that they need him to fix the problem. Archie and the Vigils begin selling all of the chocolate and giving students who are not selling credit. They do not give Jerry any credit because they want him to be held responsible. The Vigils begin to harass him, beating him up, framing him for their actions, and calling his house at all hours of the night. The Vigils sell tickets to a boxing match between Jerry and the school thug Janza. During the match, Janza stops following directions and Jerry is beaten severely. One of the priests stops the fight by turning off the stadium lights and an ambulance is called for Jerry. Archie is not punished for his actions and Jerry tells his friend Goober not to "disturb the universe" because it's not worth it. Cormier has written a coming of age novel that is often banned due to the violence, sexuality, and language.
Awards:
ALA Notable Children's Books, 1995
Margaret A. Edwards Award, 1991
Teaching Resources:
Interview with Author
Lesson Plan
Vocabulary List
Book Trailer
No comments:
Post a Comment