I Am the Cheese (original 1977; édition 2007)

“He was intrigued by the power of words, not the literary words that filled the books in the library but the sharp, staccato words that went into the writing of news stories. Words that went for the jugular. Active verbs that danced and raced on the page.”
― Robert Cormier, I Am the Cheese

I read this in school and it made such an impact on me I could shiver just thinking about it.

I looked for this book for years due to my forgetting the title. Maybe that was subconsciously on purpose as it is one of the most depressing books I've ever read. That doesn't mean it isn't good! I saw another reviewer said something about what were they thinking making this a school assignment. I could kind of understand that.

Some of the best literature I've read during my High school and college says that was required. Among those are 1984, The Lottery, An Incident at Owl Creek Bridge, The Light in the Forest, The Color Purple and many more I am sure I am forgetting.

I am the Cheese is one I am not sure I'd have read otherwise so I guess that's a good thing. If you happen to be thinking of reading this try to start the book in a decent mood because it is so morose.
It was a gr eat read though. Not sure I will reread but it gets 4.5 stars from me anyway. ( )

Check out my review at: http://shannonsbookbag.blogspot.com/2011/11/i-am-cheese-robert-cormier.html ( )

I am not sure how this book escaped me in childhood. Fabulous book that I will read again. The one thing I would say is if you are at all interested in reading this book -- do not read the reviews/description of this book.. I entered in to reading this with the most basic idea of the story (A boy is pedaling on his old bike by himself from one city to another with a package for his dad.) I would have not gotten to enjoy this story unfolding had I known more than that. This book should be on every YA must-read list, and my 14yo doesn't know it yet, but this will be on his end-of-summer reading list. :) ( )

Adam's fragile world is shattered when he learns the secret of his family's past. Told in alternating descriptions of his life, transcriptions of an interview in a sanatorium, and a crucial, impulsive bike ride. The chronology is not clear, and the reader must be content to be as confused and frustrated as Adam is. For the patient reader, though, the payoff is fantastic, and will likely have you turning immediately back to the beginning to reread and see how the pieces all fall together.

Due to the sophisticated narrative structure, I'd recommend this one for high school students.

An aside: I have just begun reading The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci, and I am already seeing fantastic similarities. Watch this, um, that space. ( )

Very good suspense. Keeps you interested untill the end.