The Chocolate War is a dark, dismal, cynical book, filled with crass language, frequent references to masturbation, violence and utter selfishness. The cast of characters contains no positive role models. Even the protagonist, who tries to stand against manipulation, in the end declares his attempts futile. A cruel, blackmailing teacher, other impotent adults, boys who see girls merely as objects to lust after and a club of young hoodlums round out the list, along with a weak friend who is unable or unwilling to buck the crowd even to support his buddy. The Chocolate War leaves readers with a hopeless ending and a demoralized and beaten main character .
The book reminds me of Lord of the Flies, taking a raw and brutal look at the cruel mob nature of adolescent boys. Though we get glimpses of the motivation and emptiness behind the "each man for himself" mentality, we are offered no solutions, merely a dismal look at the depravity of mankind. Like Lord of the Flies, the author's writing is skilled - and that is the only positive thing I can find to say.
If you want your child to come away feeling that life is meaningless, all people are selfish, that trying to follow a different drummer is futile, and the most manipulative people will succeed in the end, The Chocolate War is the tool for you. If you don't want to protect your children from this tale, there is, in my estimation, little if anything you would protect them from.