Can i join?!!! (The Recruit - Robert Muchamore)

Member Name: madmum71

Product:	The Recruit - Robert Muchamore
Date:	09/06/08 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A really well written book for kids

Disadvantages: Only for older readers

I love reading and have tried to pass this love onto my boys, when I was younger computer games had just really started but it was books that caught my imagination. These days there is so much for kids that reading seems to have taken a back seat, my boys have to read every day for their homework and in the past I have found this a bit of a battle as they were given books from school that just didn't interest them. So they are now allowed to chose their own books and this has made a huge difference, they are choosing books that interest them and the battle has got less.

We have been through all the Harry Potter books, Lemeny Snickets, Andy Mcnab, Alex Rider and a few Terry Pratchet. Then my eldest asked for this series, apparently his friends had started reading them and recommended them to him, so I managed to get him the first 3 books on a 3 for 2 offer. When I read the cover of the first book It states on the front that this book is not for younger readers so I thought I had better read the book to ensure it is suitable for my eldest who is 11. Now believe it or not I have read a few of their books normally my eldest will tell me that I have to read a certain book because it is so good and being the duitiful mum I obey! So did I enjoy this one?

THE AUTHOR

Robert Muchamore is 35 years old; he worked as a private investigator for 13 years before becoming a writer full time. Well actually he states on his website that he was actually fired for throwing a packet of antiseptic wipes at his boss after a huge row! This book is the first in the Cherub series and was published in 2004, to date he has written 10 Cherub books with the 11th to be released in September.

WHAT ARE CHERUBS?

Cherubs are basically a national secret; they are children who are trained to be spies. This started in World War 2 when a British spy called Charles Henderson worked in France helping the resistance; he saw how they used children and teenagers to work as messengers and scouts. When he returned to Britain he took what he had learned in France and trained 20 British boys for work on undercover operations, he named this project CHERUB. Charles Henderson died in 1946 but his creation thrived, CHERUB has grown to over 200 agents all under 17 they have the best education and technical support.

CHERUB agents are hand picked and are orphans who are offered this amazing opportunity they live on a huge campus with the best education including all the normal school stuff but also martial arts, weapons training, physical training and a whole lot more but the reason for their success remains the same even after all these years and that is adults never suspect that children are spying on them!

THE PLOT

Every series of books have to start somewhere and this one starts with a young boy called James Choke to be honest he hasn't got a great life, his mum is very overweight, runs a shoplifting gang and just lays on the couch all day. He has a half sister called Lauren who is the only light in his life he really does adore her but hates her dad who has a on off relationship with his mum. The other problem James has is his temper he has some serious issues with anger and this comes out at the beginning of the book when a popular girl with big brothers starts taking the mickey out of his mum. He loses his temper and pushes her unfortunately for him she falls into a wall and scratches her face on a nail; this gets him in serious trouble with the school and the girl's brothers.

Things then get worse for James when his mum suddenly dies, his sister has to go with the step dad he hates and he gets dumped in a children's home, here he makes friends with his room mate Kyle but he also manages to get himself in trouble with some older children and get himself arrested. After a lecture from a policeman he realises he is on a very destructive path but can't seem to stop himself, after returning from the police station he suddenly wakes up in a strange bed and weird place it is here that James learns all about CHERUB. He is given the chance if he wants it to attempt the tests to see if he has what it takes to become a CHERUB agent, James is lucky because he has a very good mathematical brain but the tests turn out to be very different to the normal school tests.

Of course he passes the tests but then has to make the decision whether he wants to join CHERUB or not, this takes him about 10 seconds when he sees what they have to offer him and so starts the gruelling basic training where James learns a lot about himself and more about the set up including the colour T-shirts showing other children you're rank (a bit like colour dots for ciao) and also more about the missions children are sent on.

Through this book you get to see James make friends and see him go on his first mission to infiltrate a hippie commune with terrorist links. You learn more about him and his personality. The missions can be anything from low risk to high risk but the agents have the choice whether to go or not they are not forced into anything.

MY OPINION

Ok I know this is a kid's book but I have to say that I really enjoyed it! My eldest has read the whole series and is really looking forward to the next instalment, it really is something in my house when I have to tell my monsters to stop reading but this is how it was when he is reading these books! The book is not over long it is only 330 pages so it is not so thick that a child would find it daunting but i feel its just long enough.

I found the writing style very easy to follow and that some adult book writers could learn from this, I find some books I read to be over descriptive to the point of boredom but for me this book was descriptive but not boring. Everything was explained in a non-patronising way and the story flowed very well, I do feel that this book and the series is not suitable for younger readers as they do cover topics such as terrorism, drugs, drink, gangs and of course as the kids get older sex. I have to say that these topics are covered very well and there are a lot of morals and consequences it also feels quite real and in parts gritty and up to date with the world today.

At the end of the book you get a update on all the characters that were part of the story and what happened to them, this is also brief and to the point but does give a good closure to the story.

Full price of these books is £6.99 but you can pick them up cheaper on line from EBay.

This series of books has won quite a few awards including Richard and Judy's best kids award 12+ 2007

WOULD I RECOMMEND IT?

Yes I would for ages of about 11 upward, it amazes me how kids books have become so much more descriptive and modern. Although this book does cover some topics that some parents may find a bit much I felt that it also showed the consequences of certain actions and that most of the time the baddies do get punished. I also like the way that the main character is shown to have flaws and how he has to work through them. Famous five this isn't but a good read never the less at least it kept my eldest of his computer for a while!

Property of madmum71 & lisa8871

Summary: A hard to put down kids book