The Recruit

Disclaimer: I'm an adult reader, but one who enjoys good storytelling, sometimes including YA books. While I wouldn't want to be reading YA all the time (the stories and characters are in general less complex), there's also something to be said for the focus on dynamic storytelling that YA books usually embrace. I'll be looking at this book from that point of view.

OK, this is a book about a branch of British intelligence whose operatives are underage teens (and tweens). In the same subgenre I tried reading the first Alex Rider book ([b:Stormbreaker|136782|Stormbreaker (Alex Rider, #1)|Anthony Horowitz|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1288354739s/136782.jpg|833565]) and I stopped after several chapters, because it did not seem that show more interesting and I had trouble suspending disbelief. It was like James Bond but with a teenage spy, and I was not buying it (an adult James Bond already seems unrealistic). Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it; I'll give it another chance someday. Compared to that, I found this book more grounded and "realistic". I use quotation marks because you have to suspend disbelief to accept that the government would use underage intelligence agents, but when you take a premise, even an outlandish one, and go from there in a logical manner it's much easier for the reader to accept. The kind of missions these spies get involve usually getting infiltrated into a place where an unknown adult would arise suspicions and keep their eyes open, rather than getting into a supervillain's lair armed with all manners of futuristic gadgets.

The book follows a young boy (only 11 or 12!?) and tells us how he becomes an orphan, how he is recruited as a spy, his training and his first mission. You have to understand that this is a fast-paced action book. If you expect it to be [b:War and Peace|656|War and Peace|Leo Tolstoy|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1408035049s/656.jpg|4912783] you're going to be disappointed. The focus is on the plot, not on character development or introspection. I enjoyed the pace of the story: I felt Muchamore tells us enough to picture in our minds what is happening and how it is like, belonging to this organization, but he moves on quickly. The main character, James, in the beginning is a conflictive and relatively tough kid, with a difficult family situation and who makes some bad choices and gets in trouble easily. In spite of that, I think he is presented in a way that makes it easy to like him and cheer for him.

I felt Muchamore does not talk down to his readers nor insult their intelligence. It would be easy, for example, to exaggerate the awfulness of the Children's Home to emphasize the coolness of CHERUB's (the spy organization, don't ask) campus. He doesn't, though, and instead he paints a fairly balanced picture of it. I also liked that he introduced some moral ambiguity in the first mission at the end of the book, instead of choosing a completely black and white situation.

I enjoyed the ride. I followed the training with interest and wanted to keep reading and find out what happened. It is very much a "boyish" book. By that I only mean that the emphasis is on action and adventure more than on feelings and romance, not that girls can not enjoy it. I would definitely recommend this one to interest reluctant readers (another great series for these readers is Ranger's Apprentice, by John Flanagan, starting with [b:The Ruins of Gorlan|60400|The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1)|John Flanagan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1293952830s/60400.jpg|810498]).

There is some romance, though. Nothing too heavy, but I would have felt more comfortable about it if the protagonist had been in his teens, to be already interested in girls and kissing. I would not call that unrealistic, though, specially since nowadays with the internet children mature much faster in that sense.

Reading some reviews with low ratings, I see complaints like these:

* "The final adventure was lame. There should have been more danger, more suspense" --> For me, that was actually a plus. I found the mission interesting and dangerous enough, and I appreciated that it was not a totally over-the-top super spy mission. Keeping the story grounded makes it much easier to "believe" in it. I also appreciated that there was quite a lot of background information on it, without being overwhelming. As I said, I felt it was more realistic than I would have expected given the premise.

* "I hated how emotions were discarded in this novel (...)the only emotional descriptions consisted of, "It was freezing," or "I was so mad." I wanted to get into his pain. I was some in-depth descriptions of his inner and outer turmoil." --> I think that's a feature of the story, not a bug. As I said, the focus is on action and adventure, not on feelings. James is pretty tough for his age (all the kids at CHERUB are, or they wouldn't be there), and he takes the physical hardships without dwelling too much on them. Knowing that he can walk out at any time but instead is determined to succeed helps. However, when it really matters (losing his mother, not being able to visit his sister) you can see how it affects him, although he expresses it through his actions more than by talking about it.

* "The writing style was also bad. There were several errors and typos in the text. Some of the sentences required a second read, which greatly disrupted the ease of reading." --> That wasn't my experience. I found the writing style direct and perfectly serviceable for the kind of story being told, and for me the book flew by.

* "I found I couldn't like any of the characters, especially the main one. Their personalities were... erratic to say the least. In some points, they contained the maturity of a 30-year-old, and the next they were beyond stupid." --> I did like the characters. I did not find them erratic or unbelievable. The kids are intelligent and tough, but they sometimes make bad decisions. The main character is certainly not perfect, but that makes sense given his upbringing.

* Complaints about the "romantic" plot --> Yes, I would agree to a certain extent. The character felt too young and it was not really the moment, when he should be concentration on the mission. Is it that unrealistic, though? I'm not sure I'd say that. It certainly happened too fast, but wrecking the pace of the story to focus on that would not have worked at all.

* "Seriously, I have cousins between 5 and 10 years old who could write a more enthralling story. I read this book on the insistance of a friend. I had to read the first to cherub books and he had to read Eragon. I got the worse deal. By far." --> Oh, boy. Eragon? I thought those books were really bad. I guess tastes vary a lot. show less

It's odd rereading this series. I've read most of the series at least half a dozen times. James is both loveable and unlikeable. He can be a total jerk but he also can be sweet - usually when it comes to his younger sister, Lauren. That being said, he has major anger issues and I'm kind of surprised Cherub doesn't work harder to address them. I hate Kerry. She irritates me. She's amazingly immature. Although, to be fair - most of the characters are. Lauren is about the only one who has moments of maturity and even she struggles at times. I love Cherub though - the action is always exciting, the cases interesting and the characters funny.

I am surprised at the high ratings this book seems to get. 4.1 average!? I know I'm not the target audience and it's a book about a 12 year old but I thought it would be for older teens as it warns "not suitable for younger readers on the cover" - anyway, I agree with some of the one star reviews about the writing style being a bit too basic. For an idea this good you think it would be more gripping but it's really not. At least it was easy to read and quick to get through. Character inconsistencies and pointless secondary characters also didn't help. Will probably read the next one at some point anyway to see if it improves and I do like this idea.

Aspiring teenage fiction authors take note: if you want to rake in the fans, this is how to do it. Robert Muchamore's CHERUB series has amassed a formidable worldwide following, and one need only open up a copy of The Recruit – the book that started it all – to see why. Muchamore plays shamelessly on every thirteen-year-old boy's closeted longing to be a secret agent. No matter how many times our protagonist, James, is battered, bruised, drowned or nearly killed in training or on missions, readers will still fantasise themselves into his boots, because to be him would be the coolest thing ever. From the descriptions of his former bedroom – so loaded with gaming consoles that 'it looked like a bomb had gone off in Toys R Us' – to show more the campus full of karate-kids whose job it is to break into terrorists' houses and smash up furniture, every aspect of this novel is hardwired to scream 'teenage guy's dream'.

As fast-paced thrillers go, Muchamore's writing is top-notch. He stumbles a little when it comes to realistic dialogue, but nowhere near enough to unglue his readers from the page. With the help of some convincing (but not cumbersome) background information, a cast of likeable supporting characters and a smattering of brisk humour – all delivered via bite-sized chapters packed with punchy sentences – The Recruit goes from readable to downright addictive without a moment's pause, especially where basic training and the CHERUB campus are concerned.

Once James departs on his first mission, the page-turning power wanes a little, but with so much momentum behind it, The Recruit is virtually unstoppable. What Muchamore gives us in the final few chapters is a somewhat sobering reminder of his novel's realism. For all its action-packed charisma, this miniature portrait of intelligence work is coloured with a complexity and depth that complete the book very nicely.

The hype is fully justified; Robert Muchamore's first CHERUB novel will grab you, thrill you and leave you eager for more. It's a good thing the series shows no signs of running out any time soon. show less

The idea behind the story is good. However I thought there was too much violence.. and could have gone without the glorified violence. I’m particularly upset about the wanton destruction of a musical instrument!! It’s hard to believe these are 9-16 year olds.

I was intrigued by the premise of this series of books. Children being recruited into a secret service of spies operating under the radar to infiltrate the places adults can’t reach. The teenagers I work with can’t get enough of them and I’m frequently told that they are the best thing they have ever read. Having finished this, the first in the series I can kind of see why.
I’m clearly not the target audience for these books but despite this I really enjoyed it. Yes I found the lead character James a bit irritating at first but then I thought about his background and upbringing and his personality made sense. It will be interesting to see how he grows and matures in the books to come. I thought the storyline was convincing and show more the infiltration of the camp was very topical and ripped straight from the headlines.
My only criticism was that I found the general why in which the children behaved was unrealistic. James is 11 for goodness sake. I realise that he would have had to grow up fast, as would all the children in Cherub, but I seriously doubt that he would be able to be as mature as he was. I constantly had to remind myself that they weren’t 15,16,17. Despite this I was able to suspend reality and enjoy the story and I am assured that the series gets better and better so I look forward to discovering if this is true. show less

My 9 year old nephew loves these so I bought the first one to take a look. On the back cover is a warning "not suitable for younger readers" which I took to be a marketing thing (what better way to get your book read by younger readers wanting to read something that makes them seem older!) However, having read the book I feel the warning should be taken somewhat seriously.

This is unfortunate though as the story would be ideal for younger readers, and indeed young teens too. It is quite reminiscent of Anthony Horowitz - a perfect scenario for boys. Who would not want to be chosen as a Cherub agent, enlisted by British Secret services for those missions that adults cannot manage?

The scenario is perfect and should make for a great and show more readable series. The first story was a good adventure - maybe staying a little too long on the basic training, but still one that younger readers will love, and older readers can appreciate. I fully intend to buy the next book in the series.

But the writing occasionally lets the book down. As a father, there is language in the book and some messages from the book that I would not want to put in front of younger readers, and I will not be recommending it to anyone under the age of 11. Its not terrible, and some of my problem with the language just marks me out as an old fogy! But it was unnecessary, and a real pity as this book could be enjoyed by 9+ otherwise. show less