The Guardian From the moment The Chocolate War, a coruscating attack on intimidation and corruption in an American catholic school, was published in 1974, the author Robert Cormier, who has died aged 75, was continually raising the stakes about what could be written about for young readers.
Every topic is open, however shocking.
There were frequent attempts to ban his work in schools and libraries in America. Tenderness is a very tough book. But it's written in a minor key. When you're dealing with a serial killer and a sexually precocious girl, it's easy to let the blood flow and the sex roll. The harder part is to contain it and suggest it.