Robert Cormier

Jerry Renault is forced into a psychological showdown with Trinity School's gang leader, Archie Costello, for refusing to be bullied into selling chocolates for the annual fund raising.

As The Avenger searches for the teenage boys who trashed a house in his neighborhood, Buddy, one of the trashers, increases his drinking in order to cope with his parents' separation and his obsession with the daughter of the owner of the vandalized house.

Eleven-year-old Henry escapes his family's problems by watching the woodcarving of Mr. Levine, an elderly Holocaust survivor, but when Henry is manipulated into betraying his friend he comes to know true evil.

A seven-year-old girl has been bludgeoned to death and buried in a pile of leaves. Although the police have no leads, they are pressured to close the case as soon as possible. So they call in a master interrogator to question 12-year-old Jason, the victim's friend and the last person to see her alive. Although Jason is innocent, he is shy, insecure, and wants to give answers that will satisfy everyone. As the questioning becomes more subtle and probing,...