What was the name of the creepy book I read in 7th grade?

July 19, 2008 2:36 PM

Bookfilter: I can't remember the name of a book I read in 7th grade (circa 1987). It's about a school in which a teacher starts a club to teach the kids about the power of groupthink. In the club the kids are divided into groups with armbands and symbols, and at some point things get out of control and the group becomes cult-like and disturbing. Does anyone have any idea what this book was called?
posted by odayoday to Writing & Language (10 answers total)

Was it "The Wave"? IIRC, there was also an after-school special. Let me have a look around...
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:41 PM on July 19, 2008

Are you thinking of The Wave?
posted by annaramma at 2:41 PM on July 19, 2008

"The Wave" (summary of the book) and a website about the movie.
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:43 PM on July 19, 2008

Nthing it being The Wave. Started off with some girl in a blue sweater asking how the Germans could just let all the happenings of the Nazi's happen?

At least that's the way it was in the movie.
posted by theichibun at 2:47 PM on July 19, 2008

Here's another possibility - The War Between the Classes. Doesn't exactly match - it's an assignment for a whole class, not a club. But I did reread it recently and there were armbands and the experiment does get out of hand. If by some chance The Wave isn't it, maybe check this one out.
posted by Stacey at 3:14 PM on July 19, 2008

Sounds like The War Between the Classes to me, but I haven't read The Wave.
posted by acoutu at 4:05 PM on July 19, 2008

My memory of The Wave is foggy because I read it in junior high, but it sounds to me like it's the book you're thinking of.
posted by HotPatatta at 4:21 PM on July 19, 2008

It's definitely The Wave.
posted by lunasol at 4:40 PM on July 19, 2008

Response by poster: Oddly enough, what brought this up was a discussion about the book that my boyfriend and I were having. It turns out that The War Between The Classes was what I was thinking of, but The Wave was the one he had to read. So, you're all right! Thanks!
posted by odayoday at 4:50 PM on July 19, 2008

It may not matter by now, but I too thought of The Wave about halfway through your question.
posted by synecdoche at 5:33 PM on July 19, 2008