Huh?

I must admit that I'm somewhat confused over the hoopla surrounding The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. It was very violent and frightening to look into the hearts and minds of these adolescents who seemed to work without a conscience (and the adults were sometimes worse).  The main character, Jerry Renault, stood for independence and going against the grain but the message at the end seemed to be that going against the tide only results in misery.  In fact, the entire tone of the book seemed to be that if you don't do what you're told, misfortune will certainly befall you.  Perhaps a secondary message is that the world is cruel and unfair and bad things happen.  However, I read books to get away from the sad realities of life (and I don't think the world is all that bad anyway).  This isn't to say that I don't enjoy "darker" books but there's usually some ray of light at the end.  I will say that it was very well-written (excepting some typos which may have been the fault of the printer) and a page-turner.  If you're prepared for an agonizing tale of woe and despair, this book will not disappoint.

I have no idea what to expect from the next title on the list: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard.  From what I've gathered from the back of the book (and the commercials for the tv show), this book focuses on four girls who have a very dark secret.  There's cattiness, lewd behavior, mystery, and probably lingerie.  The copy that I'm reading from looks like someone washed it, ran over it with their car, and then bent every single page.  I'm taking this to mean that it's a popular book so maybe it will really knock my socks off.  I'll let you know just as soon as I'm done!