I Am the Cheese [I AM THE CHEESE ANNIV/E 30/E] [Paperback]

by RobertCormier

I Am the Cheese <> Paperback <> RobertCormier <> AlfredA.KnopfBooksforYoungReaders

Paperback

Published September 30, 2007

Reviews

[Tone Savric · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re looking for one of the most renowned and unsettling works in YA history, start with "I Am the Cheese". Robert Cormier published this in the late 1970s when the genre wasn’t afraid to be dark, political, and brutally honest. Death, violence, corruption—nothing was off-limits, and this novel leans into all of it.

Reading it again as an adult was even better than the first time I encountered it in seventh grade.
The structure alone is genius. One chapter follows Adam Farmer biking toward Rutterburg, Vermont, determined to see his father. The next drops you into the transcript of eerie “therapy” sessions between Adam and Brant, his supposed therapist who radiates suspicion from the very first exchange. The back-and-forth is disorienting in the BEST way. You’re constantly recalibrating, constantly questioning. What is real? Who’s telling the truth? What is even happening here?

Cormier keeps you suspended in that uncertainty until the final pages, and when the truth lands, it doesn’t just land...it devastates.

It’s sharp. It’s haunting. It’s the kind of book that lingers long after you close it. Truly one of the best. Read it.

[Selah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Am the Cheese was a slow start for me, and it took a while before I really felt invested in the story. At first, I wasn’t sure where it was going, which made the beginning feel a bit dragging. However, once everything started to come together, it completely changed my perspective. The way the story unfolds and reveals the truth at the end was really well done and made the earlier confusion feel intentional. It’s a haunting, thought-provoking book that sticks with you after you finish it, and the ending alone made it worth the read.

[madison :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this for school! i forgot what day we started tbh. but this book was SO good. i loved every bit of it. it was confusing at some parts but it was awesome. if you don’t like books that make you cry, don’t read it.

[Amber Krueger · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Not my favorite, but not bad. A bit of a thriller.

[Daniel Coffey · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are into psychological books, this one is for you. Adam has to uncover the trauma he has blocked out since childhood.