Frenchtown Summer by Robert Cormier, Dan Krovatin (Illustrator)
Reading level: Young Adult

Robert Cormier, much-lauded author of fiction for teens, pulls a switch on his readers with this memoir in blank verse, and proves to be an equally dazzling success as a poet. The story takes place in the streets, alleys, and tenements of the French-Canadian district of Monument called Frenchtown, familiar to Cormier fans from Fade, Heroes, and Tunes for Bears to Dance To.

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Heroes: A Novel by Robert Cormier
Reading level: Young Adult Eighteen-year-old Francis Cassavant has returned from World War II an unwilling hero. Although he can still see and hear, a grenade has blown away his nose, his ears, his teeth, and his cheeks, leaving him faceless. Hiding his ghastly wounds with bandages and a white silk scarf, Francis welcomes the anonymity his mutilation brings him, for he has returned to his hometown with a secret mission--a plot for revenge (against his enemy Larry LaSalle) that he values more than his own life. Francis's eerily matter-of-fact acceptance of his hideous mien, along with his sweetness and selflessness, contrast sharply with his obsessive need for vengeance.

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Tunes for Bears to Dance to by Robert Cormier
Reading level: Young Adult

A masterful portrayal of hatred, prejudice and manipulation that challenges readers to examine how they would behave in the face of evil. Henry meets and befriends Mr. Levine, an elderly Holocaust survivor, who is carving a replica of the village where he lived and which was destroyed in the war. Henry's friendship with Mr. Levine is put to the test when his prejudiced boss, Mr. Hairston, asks Henry to destroy Mr. Levine's village.

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Other Bells for Us to Ring by Robert Cormier, Deborah Kogan Ray (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 9-12

Eleven-year-old Darcy hasn't lived in any one place long enough to have a best friend--until her family settles in Frenchtown and she meets Kathleen Mary O'Hara. Darcy is spellbound by Kathleen Mary's vivid tales of Catholicism. She shows Darcy a world beyond Frenchtown: a world of daring games and secrets, of sins and miracles.

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The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Reading level: Young Adult

Does Jerry Renault dare to disturb the universe? You wouldn't think that his refusal to sell chocolates during his school's fundraiser would create such a stir, but it does; it's as if the whole school comes apart at the seams.

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After the First Death by Robert Cormier
Reading level: Young Adult

Cambridge Literature is a series of literary texts edited for study by students aged 14-18 in English-speaking classrooms. It will include novels, poetry, short stories, essays, travel-writing and other non-fiction. The series will be extensive and open-ended and will provide school students with a range of edited texts taken from a wide geographical spread. It will feature writing in English from various genres and differing times. After the First Death by Robert Cormier is edited by John Lancaster, Head of English at the Ken Simpton Community School in Peterborough.

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We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Reading level: Young Adult

They entered the house at 9:02 P.M. and trashed their way through the Cape Cod cottage. At 9:46 P.M. Karen Jerome made the mistake of arriving home early. Thrown down the basement stairs, Karen slips into a coma. The trashers slip away.

But The Avenger has seen it all.

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In the Middle of the Night by Robert Cormier
Reading level: Young Adult

The sin of the father will be visited upon the son.

On Halloween, eight years before Denny Colbert was born, his father was involved in a tragic accident that killed twenty-two children. And one of those children can't forget.

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The Bumblebee Flies Anyway by Robert Cormier
Reading level: Young Adult

Sixteen-year-old Barney can't remember life before the Complex, an experimental clinlc. He knows he's different--he's the control subject. Then he uncovers a terrible secret about himself, a secret that drives him to fulfill his and his fellow subjects' ultimate dream. The Bumblebee must fly!

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Beyond the Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Reading level: Young Adult

The school year is almost at an end, and the chocolate sale is past history. But no one at Trinity School can forget The Chocolate War.

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