Robert Cormier 1925–

American novelist, short story writer, editor, and journalist. Rather than the explorations of interpersonal relationships favored by many young adult novelists, Cormier deals with the outside forces that test the individual and often maliciously oppose him. His themes are powerful and not often considered in young adult fiction: betrayal, vulnerability, guilt, paranoia, fear, and psychosis. His protagonists enter or are forced into situations which place them in direct opposition to powerful adversaries, both identified and faceless. Without any help or support, these characters all come to the realization, as does Adam in I Am the Cheese, that in order to survive they must learn to stand alone. Many of Cormier's topics and subjects stem from personal experience, much of it gained during his career as a newspaper reporter and human interest columnist. For instance, the models for Gracie of A Little Raw on Monday Mornings and Tommy Battin of Take Me Where the Good Times Are were interviewed by Cormier while on assignment. His father's death from cancer was the stimulus for Now and at the Hour, and his son's refusal to sell candy for his high school served as the background for The Chocolate War, Cormier's first book for young adults. Since The Chocolate War, Cormier has written exclusively for young adults. His novels are written with an emphasis on dialogue, which he uses rather than narrative description to develop his characters. The novels are extremely fast-moving and establish personality and situation in short, quick strokes. Cormier has been criticized for the bleak, depressing endings of his books and has been accused of pessimism by some critics. Although the vision in his novels acknowledges the darker side of life, Cormier's attitude seems to be one of awareness of evil rather than agreement with it. Without moralizing, Cormier's novels stress the importance of self-reliance and self-respect. His combination of realism, sensitivity, and originality has made him popular with both readers and critics, and has moved him to the forefront of recent young adult novelists. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 1-4, rev. ed., and Something about the Author, Vol. 10.)