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Bitter Chocolate
A novel about friendship and survival, set in the cocoa plantations of West Africa
Pascal’s life is like any other local boy’s, until the day rebels come to his village and everything changes. On the run with friends, Pascal finds himself in some tough situations. But it is not until he ends up working in a cocoa plantation that he realizes he must try to find his family and free himself from enslavement.
Pascal’s life is like any other local boy’s, until the day rebels come to his village and everything changes. On the run with friends, Pascal finds himself in some tough situations. But it is not until he ends up working in a cocoa plantation that he realizes he must try to find his family and free himself from enslavement.
- GenresYoung AdultChildrens
192 pages, Paperback
First published May 31, 2010
11 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Sally Grindley
247 books50 followersI came into children's books originally as Editorial Director of a nationwide children's book club, though I had written and directed a children's play while a student at Sussex University, which was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe. I wrote my first two children's picture books in 1984 and was lucky enough that Anthony Browne wanted to illustrate the second - Knock Knock Who's There? It was published in 1985, is still going strong today and is one of my most successful.
Shhh! was published in 1991 and has known great success in France/Belgium in particular (close on 300,000 copies sold). It's success in the UK - it won the Children's Book Award - was hampered by the liquidation of its original publisher.
I became a full-time author in 1995 and now have some 150+ titles published, the most recent being L'Histoire du Soir in France, Belgium and Italy.
Feather Wars, published in 2003, was my first sortie into young fiction and was followed by the very successful Spilled Water, which has been published in some ten different languages and is very popular in schools as a class reader. It won the Nestle Smarties Gold Award (and I wound up being a 'Pointless' answer on the back of it!) Broken Glass came next and was a Sunday Times Book of the Week.
I'm currently working on picture books again and have plans to illustrate one of my own in the not too distant future - watch this space!
Shhh! was published in 1991 and has known great success in France/Belgium in particular (close on 300,000 copies sold). It's success in the UK - it won the Children's Book Award - was hampered by the liquidation of its original publisher.
I became a full-time author in 1995 and now have some 150+ titles published, the most recent being L'Histoire du Soir in France, Belgium and Italy.
Feather Wars, published in 2003, was my first sortie into young fiction and was followed by the very successful Spilled Water, which has been published in some ten different languages and is very popular in schools as a class reader. It won the Nestle Smarties Gold Award (and I wound up being a 'Pointless' answer on the back of it!) Broken Glass came next and was a Sunday Times Book of the Week.
I'm currently working on picture books again and have plans to illustrate one of my own in the not too distant future - watch this space!
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 17, 2013
Bitter Chocolate
Set in Guinea in West Africa during the civil wars of neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone, the book tells the story Pascal, one of many children caught up in the violence. When rebel fighting invades his quiet village, killing his father and separating him from his mother and sisters, Pascal flees into the forest. There, he is captured by rebels and forced to become a child soldier. The story travels back and forth between these events and his current situation trapped in slave labour on a cocoa plantation. The story centres around his hopes to escape and find his family as well as coming to terms with his violent and traumatic past.
I enjoyed this book, and despite the obvious difficulties of making such themes suitable for children, the issues are dealt with sensitively and without sensationalism. I particularly liked the character development of Pascal, who undergoes a transformation from a thoughtful, somewhat shy boy to a swaggering and aggressive teenager in order to survive.
Due to the subject matter, I wouldn’t recommend this for below Yr6 or 7 for a class read. Much of the violence depicted is only alluded to, but beatings are described, drugs and alcohol are mentioned briefly and Pascal remains in constant danger throughout the book. I would give this a miss if there were children in my class that may have been affected by the issues raised.
This book provides plenty of opportunity to look at narrative structure, character development and setting. Alongside the cross-curricular links with geography and history, links could also be made with PHSE in looking at how our circumstances can shape us and dealing with difficult feelings.
Unwittingly, I seem to have chosen books with a theme this term – child refugees in peril - so I am going to try and look for good reads for slightly younger children in other genres, perhaps with lighter themes!
Set in Guinea in West Africa during the civil wars of neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone, the book tells the story Pascal, one of many children caught up in the violence. When rebel fighting invades his quiet village, killing his father and separating him from his mother and sisters, Pascal flees into the forest. There, he is captured by rebels and forced to become a child soldier. The story travels back and forth between these events and his current situation trapped in slave labour on a cocoa plantation. The story centres around his hopes to escape and find his family as well as coming to terms with his violent and traumatic past.
I enjoyed this book, and despite the obvious difficulties of making such themes suitable for children, the issues are dealt with sensitively and without sensationalism. I particularly liked the character development of Pascal, who undergoes a transformation from a thoughtful, somewhat shy boy to a swaggering and aggressive teenager in order to survive.
Due to the subject matter, I wouldn’t recommend this for below Yr6 or 7 for a class read. Much of the violence depicted is only alluded to, but beatings are described, drugs and alcohol are mentioned briefly and Pascal remains in constant danger throughout the book. I would give this a miss if there were children in my class that may have been affected by the issues raised.
This book provides plenty of opportunity to look at narrative structure, character development and setting. Alongside the cross-curricular links with geography and history, links could also be made with PHSE in looking at how our circumstances can shape us and dealing with difficult feelings.
Unwittingly, I seem to have chosen books with a theme this term – child refugees in peril - so I am going to try and look for good reads for slightly younger children in other genres, perhaps with lighter themes!
January 8, 2018
One of the worst books I've ever read. Seriously it's bad. I’m telling you please don’t ever read this book unless you have very high mental stability or extremely low knowledge of punctuation or grammar or just any judgment at all. But even then please spare yourself don't do it I’m dead serious.
Chapter 20, for example, has stupidly sophisticated word choice out of nowhere for absolutely no reason. It's just generally a pointless chapter that (much like the rest of the book) is written horribly with the worst punctuation I've ever seen. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this was written by a 9-year-old with an IQ of 60. So in conclusion, don't waste your money on this abomination, please.
Chapter 20, for example, has stupidly sophisticated word choice out of nowhere for absolutely no reason. It's just generally a pointless chapter that (much like the rest of the book) is written horribly with the worst punctuation I've ever seen. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this was written by a 9-year-old with an IQ of 60. So in conclusion, don't waste your money on this abomination, please.
August 27, 2010
I've tagged this 'books for children' but it's not suitable for under 14s.
It's a stunning story about two boys doing forced labour on a cocoa plantation in West Africa. The story is told in fragments through flashbacks of Pascal’s tragic young life. Highly recommended, but adult guidance is a must.
It's a stunning story about two boys doing forced labour on a cocoa plantation in West Africa. The story is told in fragments through flashbacks of Pascal’s tragic young life. Highly recommended, but adult guidance is a must.
June 25, 2015
An engrossing story about Pascal who witnesses the raid of his village by rebels, who becomes a child soldier, and then who ends up as a child labourer in a cocoa plantation. A book to transform your thinking. Some swearing and descriptions of war violence.
February 10, 2016
I love this book so much because of how it puts civil war to younger readers and shows them how unfortunate other kids can be throughout the world. I wish the book was longer so that I would be able to know what happened at the end to Pascal and Kojo.
Read
October 25, 2013Children producing cocoa beans on a plantation. Grade 4 comprehension, but more mature read.
Connections to other child survival books:
A long walk to water
Iqbal
The garbage king
I am a taxi
Connections to other child survival books:
A long walk to water
Iqbal
The garbage king
I am a taxi
April 4, 2020
Short but powerful tale of the life of young boys when caught up in civil war and exploited by those who came to help them.
April 7, 2022
A really fascinating and heartbreaking story.
December 3, 2013
it a really magnificent story about pascal and kojo who work on a plantation and share their sorrows with each other.
it has been beautifully penned. the chapters are so placed that you travel in the present while you catch the glimpse of flashbacks in an orderly alternate arrangements of chapters.
the story revolves around pascal a boy of ten who is separated from his family during a rebel attack and then he has to run away into the forest with his two cousins. the trio are then found by two revolutionaries and they are trained under them. the story takes turn when pascal escapes from the forest and finds his way to the refugee camp, and from there he is taken to the cocoa plantation and meets kojo. the duo plan to escape from the plantation where they are being persecuted continuously, one fine day they are finally able to make their way out of the plantation and lead a free life.
it has been beautifully penned. the chapters are so placed that you travel in the present while you catch the glimpse of flashbacks in an orderly alternate arrangements of chapters.
the story revolves around pascal a boy of ten who is separated from his family during a rebel attack and then he has to run away into the forest with his two cousins. the trio are then found by two revolutionaries and they are trained under them. the story takes turn when pascal escapes from the forest and finds his way to the refugee camp, and from there he is taken to the cocoa plantation and meets kojo. the duo plan to escape from the plantation where they are being persecuted continuously, one fine day they are finally able to make their way out of the plantation and lead a free life.
September 27, 2010
A story of Pascal, a boy caught up in the civil war in West Africa. His family has gone, possibly killed; he is kidnapped and drugged by guerillas and then taught how to use an AK47 to help them fight their war. Pascal escapes from these men and makes his way to a refugee camp, only to be tricked into becoming a virtual slave on a cocoa bean plantation. He makes friends with Kojo and together they make plans to run away and try to find their families.
This book is 174 pages long and written for older children. It gives a good insight into how life is for some children in other parts of the world.
This book is 174 pages long and written for older children. It gives a good insight into how life is for some children in other parts of the world.
Read
May 5, 2013Child soldiers, child labor, injustice, Africa conflicts, etc. eventually this book shows civil victimizations caused by global capitalism. Children are consumed as armed material and human factory to serve global customers.. Great mapping the plots back and forth between different time lines that strikingly show enforced change and growth yet humen hope despite. I learned new vocals reading such contexts.
January 30, 2011
Thought-provoking and a page turner! What will become of Pascal as he encounters such tragedy?
March 9, 2012
heart warming
June 16, 2012
An well written and exciting story that will transform your thinking about child labour and eating your next bar of chocolate. Excellent choice for Lit Circles.
March 23, 2018
this book was amazing
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews