The Recruit by Robert Muchamore

Warning: mild spoilers ahead

This is the kind of book that I wouldnt have been that interested in a year ago, but it quite quickly grew on me. It’s really optimistic and that’s often something that makes you want to keep on reading a book until you realise an hour later that you've finished it already. 

It’s kinf of a less serious James Bond and as someone who never really liked the James Bond franchise, this is a nicer alternative. It’s definitely a book you could read to kids, but I’d say 10 and above is a good age, because someone younger might not be fully able to grasp the themes. 

It’s got a decent storyline but as the first book of the CHERUB series, it kind of has to set up the rest of the books first. It follows 11 year old James Choke as he is recruited as a new agent. I really enjoyed all the details of the CHERUB campus  and how it operates. I’ve always found things like this cool, the descriptions of Hogwarts in Harry Potter for example.  

The characters aren’t bad either, they are not identical heroic characters who are good at everything. In this book you get people who struggle, who aren’t necessarily heroic or noble, people who are afraid at times which is more realistic.

The plot can wander a bit, where you’re just thinking “what kind of point are you trying to make?” and maybe suffers from being the first book in a series, but overall, I enjoyed it and it made me want to read the next in the series, so job done!


Image copyright: Hodder Children's Books

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