Ice Picks in the Brain: The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier

As part of Banned Books Week, I thought I'd take a look at the works of Robert Cormier, a frequent resident of banned/challenged lists compiled by the American Library Association.  The following review was written 12 years ago for a now-defunct website, so I thought I'd resurrect it for Quivering Pen readers.  I'll have another essay about The Chocolate War here at the blog later this week.

In their best moments—when the words are firing on all cylinders—Robert Cormier’s stories are...