The Wave by Morton Rhue (aka Todd Strasser)

I can't remember now where I first learned about The Wave by Morton Rhue (aka Todd Strasser). Maybe from another book blogger?? Anyway, I've had The Wave on my reading wishlist for quite a while and decided that this month was going to be the one for reading this novel.

The Wave is a young adult novel based on real life events that take place at a high school in Palo Alto, California back in 1969. The fact that this novel is based on real life event and the captivating synopsis are what initially captured my attention enough to want to read The Wave.

Since I'm currently having a complex regional pain syndrome (crps) flare up, I used Google Gemini to help me flush out some of the finer points of this book as follows below:

A Chilling Study in Groupthink: Review of The Wave by Morton Rhue

Morton Rhue’s 1981 novel The Wave (a pen name for Todd Strasser) remains one of the most stark, accessible explorations of how totalitarianism develops within a society. Based on Ron Jones’s real-life 1967 "Third Wave" classroom experiment at a California high school, the story serves as a haunting answer to a timeless question: How could ordinary people allow something like Nazi Germany to happen?

Premise & Plot

When history teacher Ben Ross shows his high school class documentary footage of Holocaust concentration camps, his students react with disbelief. They insist that the average German citizen could not possibly have stood by while millions were murdered. Intrigued and slightly frustrated by their skepticism, Ross decides to launch an unannounced classroom experiment.

He introduces strict discipline, snappy salutes, and unifying slogans: "Strength Through Discipline, Strength Through Community, Strength Through Action." He dubs the movement "The Wave."

What begins as an engaging pedagogical tool quickly spirals out of control:

• Instant Belonging: Outsiders and victims of bullying, like student Robert Billings, suddenly find status and equality within the group.

• Enforced Conformity: The movement rapidly spreads beyond the history classroom. Dissenters—most notably Laurie Saunders, the student newspaper editor—are ostracized, threatened, and labeled as traitors.

• Loss of Control: Ben Ross himself becomes intoxicated by the absolute authority and order he commands, delaying the end of the experiment even as violence begins to leak into the school hallways.

Key Themes

Theme	How It Manifests in the Book
Conformity vs. Individuality	Students willingly trade personal critical thinking for the security and comfort of belonging to a collective.
The Appeal of Fascism	Rhue demonstrates that authoritarian systems do not begin with obvious cruelty; they begin with order, pride, and shared purpose.
Power Dynamics	Ben Ross highlights how authority easily corrupts even well-meaning leaders who believe they remain in control.

Strengths & Weaknesses

• Strengths: The pacing is rapid and taut. At under 150 pages, it reads with the urgency of a thriller. The psychological shift of the students feels disturbingly believable, demonstrating how quickly human beings succumb to tribalism when offered structure and inclusion.

• Weaknesses: Written primarily as young adult literature, the prose is straightforward and occasionally sparse. Character development takes a back seat to the central psychological experiment, making some interactions feel somewhat functional rather than deeply nuanced.

Below is the publisher's summary for The Wave by Morton Rhue (aka Todd Strasser) I found on Amazon's website:

The Wave is based on a true incident that occurred in a high school history class in Palo Alto, California, in 1969.

The powerful forces of group pressure that pervaded many historic movements such as Nazism are recreated in the classroom when history teacher Ben Ross introduces a "new" system to his students. And before long "The Wave", with its rules of "strength through discipline, community, and action," sweeps from the classroom through the entire school. And as most of the students join the movement, Laurie Saunders and David Collins recognize the frightening momentum of "The Wave" and realize they must stop it before it's too late.

I am giving The Wave by Morton Rhue (aka Todd Strasser) a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!