I Am The Cheese. (Accelerated Reader).

Before there was Lois Lowry’s The Giver or M. T. Anderson’s Feed , there was Robert Cormier’s I Am the Cheese , a subversive classic that broke new ground for YA literature. A boy’s search for his father becomes a desperate journey to unlock a secret past. But the past must not be remembered if the boy is to survive. As he searches for the truth that hovers at the edge of his mind, the boy—and readers—arrive at a shattering conclusion. “An absorbing, even brilliant job. The book is assembled in mosaic fashion: a tiny chip here, a chip there. . . . Everything is related to something else; everything builds and builds to a fearsome climax. . . . [Cormier] has the knack of making horror out of the ordinary, as the masters of suspense know how to do.”— The New York Times Book Review “A horrifying tale of government corruption, espionage, and counter espionage told by an innocent young victim. . . . The buildup of suspense is terrific.”— School Library Journal , starred review An ALA Notable Children’s Book A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A Horn Book Fanfare A Library of Congress Children’s Book of the Year A Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award Nominee A young boy desperately tries to unlock his past yet knows he must hide those memories if he is to remain alive. Story told using three different types of narration including first person recount, third person recount and transcripts of taped interviews. Includes reader's guide and interview with the author. Suggested level: secondary Adam's memory is very uncertain. The smell of lilacs. Biking to Monument. A big dog. Also, there's something about his dad he cannot seem to remember ... and whenever he starts to remember he gets terrible headaches. Brint seems to want to help Adam. Brint also wants to know what Adam remembers. ... But who is Brint? I am riding the bicycle and I am on Route 31 in Monument, Massachusetts, on my way to Rutterburg, Vermont, and I'm pedaling furiously because this is an old-fashioned bike, no speeds, no fenders, only the warped tires and the brakes that don't always work and the handlebars with cracked rubber grips to steer with. A boy's search for his father becomes a desperate journey to unlock a secret past. But it is a past that must not be remembered...if he is to survive.

A young boy desperately tries to unlock his past yet knows he must hide those memories if he is to remain alive.

Through his doctor's questions, Adam struggles out of a world of medicated oblivion and begins a desperate bicycle journey in search of a truth that will destroy him