Robert+Cormier

Robert Cormier began his literary career as a newspaper reporter and columnist, which exposed him to many different kinds of people and situations. In writing literature for young adults, Cormier draws on experiences from his own life and news events to develop plots and characters, giving them a true-to-life feel. In an interview in School Library Journal, Cormier said "I take real people and put them in extraordinary situations. I'm very much interested in intimadation, the way people manipulate other people, and the obvious abuse of authority." __The Chocolate War__ was Cormier's first young adult novel, and one which had great success with readers of the genre. Another novel by this distinguished author, which is now considered a YA classic along with __The Chocolate War__, is __I Am the Cheese__. In 1991, Robert Cormier was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award, which honored his lifetime contribution to young adult literature. To read an interview of Robert Cormier given by the website TeenReads in 2000, [|click here].