I Am the Cheese

Front Cover
Random House Children's Books, Mar 19, 2013 - Young Adult Fiction - 224 pages
Before there was Lois Lowry’s The Giver or M. T. Anderson’s Feed, there was Robert Cormier’s I Am the Cheese, a subversive classic that broke new ground for YA literature.
 
A boy’s search for his father becomes a desperate journey to unlock a secret past. But the past must not be remembered if the boy is to survive. As he searches for the truth that hovers at the edge of his mind, the boy—and readers—arrive at a shattering conclusion.
 
“An absorbing, even brilliant job. The book is assembled in mosaic fashion: a tiny chip here, a chip there. . . . Everything is related to something else; everything builds and builds to a fearsome climax. . . . [Cormier] has the knack of making horror out of the ordinary, as the masters of suspense know how to do.”—The New York Times Book Review
 
“A horrifying tale of government corruption, espionage, and counter espionage told by an innocent young victim. . . . The buildup of suspense is terrific.”—School Library Journal, starred review
 
An ALA Notable Children’s Book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Horn Book Fanfare
A Library of Congress Children’s Book of the Year
A Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award Nominee
 

Selected pages

Contents

Section 1
1
Section 2
6
Section 3
12
Section 4
16
Section 5
18
Section 6
23
Section 7
25
Section 8
29
Section 18
93
Section 19
97
Section 20
99
Section 21
101
Section 22
107
Section 23
119
Section 24
136
Section 25
142

Section 9
39
Section 10
44
Section 11
57
Section 12
59
Section 13
67
Section 14
76
Section 15
82
Section 16
87
Section 17
90
Section 26
152
Section 27
164
Section 28
169
Section 29
184
Section 30
193
Section 31
204
Section 32
211
Copyright

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About the author (2013)

Robert Cormier (1925-2000) changed the face of young adult literature over the course of his illustrious career. His many books include The Chocolate War, I Am the Cheese, Fade, Tenderness, After the First Death, Heroes, Frenchtown Summer, and The Rag and Bone Shop. In 1991 he received the Margaret A. Edwards Award, honoring his lifetime contribution to writing for teens.

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