CHERUB - The Recruit
'As far as he could tell, he’d stopped one small bunch of bad guys
killing a big bunch of bad guys and as a result the good guys got
chucked out of their homes by another bunch of bad guys. Did that make
him good or bad? James only knew that thinking about it gave him a
headache.'
Title: CHERUB - The Recruit
Author: Robert Muchamore
Publisher: Simon Pulse (2. April 2004)
Plot
The first book of the Cherub-Series introduces the main characters and explains the background story.
James Choke is a clever but lazy person and because he is bored at school, get's in trouble often. This characteristic turns out to be very dangerous, when his mother dies and leaves him and his sister behind with only a badly behaved man to take care of his sister and no notice of himself. At the children's home he soon makes more trouble and is warned by the police, that children like him mostly end up in jail for the rest of their life.
One day he wakes up and find's himself in new surroundings. James was brought to CHERUB to be tested, if he is fit to be a childrens agent. Having passed the entry tests, he moves on the campus with his sister soon following him.
Each kid at the age of ten, has to take part in a basic training, which is supposed to be so difficult and hard, that almost nothing scares or tires them anymore afterwards. Overcoming some obstacles on the way, he manages to get trough the training and from then on is allowed to go on missions.
His first mission takes him to the Camp Fort Harmony, where he is supposed to disclose, which camp members are part of an agressive group called 'Help Earth!', who is thought to sabotage a meeting at a nearby place.
Review
The CHERUB series has never lost it's hold on me. I first read the books, when I was about James's age and have enjoyed them ever since.
Well written, the book is thrilling all the way through, but never too brutal as other stories of that genre often are.
Robert Muchamore's quick style of writing provides for the readers tension troughout the whole book and ensures to never get bored. But even though scenes and venues keep changing frequently, it nevers seems flippant or confusing and flows into each other so naturally, that at some point I emerged from the book and just wondered, how I had progressed so rapidly.
James, with all his flaws but quick wit, quickly grows on the reader, even more so his little sister.
James's character was created perfectly to suit the reader, having fun with him on exciting but reckless adventures. One can't help empathising when he get's in trouble, even though it's mostly his own fault, but also recognizing own features in his faults, which makes him seem more approachable and aimable. Being lazy or a little selfish are common features and easier to admit, when not feeling alone with these flaws.
Another thing I wanted to mention, was that 'The Recruit' actually made me a vegetarian in the first place. This may seem an odd statement, but I will explain why.
One test James had to do, to be accepted, went as following: Mac, the leader of CHERUB placed a chicken in front of James and asked him to kill it. James was like: What? No! Why should I? But Mac's answer made me think. He asked: 'Are you a vegetarian?' And James replied that he wasn't. So Mac wanted to know why he wouldn't kill the chicken, because if he would eat it, somebody had to do the job. The only argument James could think of, was: 'They get payed to do it'. So Mac was like: 'Okay, I'll pay you. Will you do it now?'
And I pondered this scene and even though it wasn't intended to be a moral statement, I thought that Mac was right. I wouldn't want to kill an animal either, but I ate them. That wasn't right, was it? If I didn't want animals killed, I shouldn't eat them.
And that was my first step toward becoming a vegan.
Plot
The first book of the Cherub-Series introduces the main characters and explains the background story.
James Choke is a clever but lazy person and because he is bored at school, get's in trouble often. This characteristic turns out to be very dangerous, when his mother dies and leaves him and his sister behind with only a badly behaved man to take care of his sister and no notice of himself. At the children's home he soon makes more trouble and is warned by the police, that children like him mostly end up in jail for the rest of their life.
One day he wakes up and find's himself in new surroundings. James was brought to CHERUB to be tested, if he is fit to be a childrens agent. Having passed the entry tests, he moves on the campus with his sister soon following him.
Each kid at the age of ten, has to take part in a basic training, which is supposed to be so difficult and hard, that almost nothing scares or tires them anymore afterwards. Overcoming some obstacles on the way, he manages to get trough the training and from then on is allowed to go on missions.
His first mission takes him to the Camp Fort Harmony, where he is supposed to disclose, which camp members are part of an agressive group called 'Help Earth!', who is thought to sabotage a meeting at a nearby place.
Review
The CHERUB series has never lost it's hold on me. I first read the books, when I was about James's age and have enjoyed them ever since.
Well written, the book is thrilling all the way through, but never too brutal as other stories of that genre often are.
Robert Muchamore's quick style of writing provides for the readers tension troughout the whole book and ensures to never get bored. But even though scenes and venues keep changing frequently, it nevers seems flippant or confusing and flows into each other so naturally, that at some point I emerged from the book and just wondered, how I had progressed so rapidly.
James, with all his flaws but quick wit, quickly grows on the reader, even more so his little sister.
James's character was created perfectly to suit the reader, having fun with him on exciting but reckless adventures. One can't help empathising when he get's in trouble, even though it's mostly his own fault, but also recognizing own features in his faults, which makes him seem more approachable and aimable. Being lazy or a little selfish are common features and easier to admit, when not feeling alone with these flaws.
Another thing I wanted to mention, was that 'The Recruit' actually made me a vegetarian in the first place. This may seem an odd statement, but I will explain why.
One test James had to do, to be accepted, went as following: Mac, the leader of CHERUB placed a chicken in front of James and asked him to kill it. James was like: What? No! Why should I? But Mac's answer made me think. He asked: 'Are you a vegetarian?' And James replied that he wasn't. So Mac wanted to know why he wouldn't kill the chicken, because if he would eat it, somebody had to do the job. The only argument James could think of, was: 'They get payed to do it'. So Mac was like: 'Okay, I'll pay you. Will you do it now?'
And I pondered this scene and even though it wasn't intended to be a moral statement, I thought that Mac was right. I wouldn't want to kill an animal either, but I ate them. That wasn't right, was it? If I didn't want animals killed, I shouldn't eat them.
And that was my first step toward becoming a vegan.
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