The Recruit: Mission 1 (Cherub Series)

Watch out for smoking, drinking and drug use

I bought this book looking at all the reviews and book description and no one warned me it had the main character smoking, drinking, and making out with girls. The other Cherubs do it too. No prohibition or maybe thinking this isn't a good idea? I was very disappointed!! This is recommended to teens!

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

It's Better than Alex Rider!

Anyone that likes the Alex Rider series will truly enjoy the CHERUB series as well. The way that the kids are recruited is much more realistic and plausible than Alex Rider. The story are realistic and keep you on the edge of your seat. I love the entire series. The whole CHERUB series is very popular around the world. Unfortunatly, it hasn't taken off here and they are trying to re-market. My 5th grade students also really enjoy the series, even the girls which did not like the Rider series at all.

The only draw back is that since most of the stories are set in England, younger readers may find the slang difficult to understand at times. Also, the first printing had some minor grammatical/spelling errors. I don't know if they were fixed in the new printing.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Loved it!!!!!!

Well i cant read many books but when I find one it is read in a day. This book was such a good book that in a room of screaming kids I got pulled into it. I loved it so much I wish it could be reaL!! All this mumb jumbo about pervertness and bad words that is just teenage life. I mean it is not like nobody has heard the words or thought the feelings.I have also read all six and every time i get done with one i am so eager to read the next.They heve ot to be the best books i have read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

It is a rather good book

Overall, the story line is better then other books includeing Alex Rider but I think the author sounds inexperienced at writing. There are at least four puctuation misstakes in the first two books. --- There is too much romance and not enough action, people at that young of age even in today's currupt society don't change up there romantic partners that often. There is also too many referances to going to the bathroom, James constantly 'has to piss', it's annoying. Other then that the book is great and I love the story line with the colored shirts and missions.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Good, but with unneeded bad language

The story is a good example of a book that could stand alone without the bad language and 'somewhat' sexual references. But overall, a good read, though a little short for me on the actal mission and too long on the training.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Not as great as Alex Rider...

There was a significant dearth (lack of) detail in 'The Recruit'. It seemed as if it were a mere SparkNotes version of what the real book could be. Also seemed kind of unrealistic. A 12-year-old doing many physically demanding exercises? Near impossible. At one point the author mentions that a two-hour run feels like a warm-up. Adults who train night and day for years, probably in the best shape anyone can be in play a game of soccer for 80 minutes (1hr,20min) and get tired! No way a 12-year-old can outdo them. It would be more suitable if the age was upped, and the standards lowered, and for goodness' sake, no need for a kid who is 12 to be 'snogging' a girl at every chance he gets!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Cherub rules!!

I liked the plot, the charecters and action. Nice original idea but a bit perverty at times. Recommended to action loving readers. I would like the series to have less sex references

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Very good book!

I own the whole series thus far, and i must say this book perfectly sets the scene for the rest of the series. A must read by my standards.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

AMAZING

This is one of the best books in all time! I think its better then the Alex Rider series. This book has alot of action in it and some romance for you lovebugs. It keeps you at the edge of your seat(or wherever you are reading) It makes you want to keep flippin through the pages like crazy!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

best book in the history of great books!!!!!!!

James Choke appeared like an ordinary London schoolboy at first glance. But his mother is the head of a top organization of selling smuggled goods. One day James has to come home early because he scratches Samantha Jennings, sister of the biggest bully in school, on a nail, so her face required eight stitches. When James comes home he looks at his mother¿s cell phone- apparently the school had called her twelve times. It was unlike her to not answer the phone. He walked into the living room, where he saw his mom and his uncle Ron sitting, apparently drunk. James hated Ron, he made James¿ life miserable every chance he got. Not to mention he always somehow gets his mum drunk. James tried to fess up to his mom, but she told him to go away, she had a headache. Ron also stole his mum¿s money. That was fine. She never left anything out she didn¿t expect James or Ron to steal- she kept the big money in a safe. James waited and brought his sister, Lauren, home from school later. When they got home Ron was gone and mum was asleep on the couch. James tried to wake her, and then he realized something: she had no pulse. James and Lauren were sent to a rundown children¿s home. James went back to his house to get all his stuff. He got it, and the money from the safe- several thousand dollars. Ron would be furious. For a little extra joke James put a picture of himself in the safe, so it would be the first thing he saw when he cracked it open. When he got back to the children¿s home he met his roommate, Kyle. Kyle warns him not to hang out with a certain group of guys, but being a typical boy James ignores the warning and gets caught smashing cars. James gets sent back to the home after a lecture from the police. Next morning he wakes up in a strange room, with track pants, boots, and an orange shirt with the word `cherub¿ on it. James puts on the shirt and walks around until finally he finds where he¿s supposed to go. A man gives him a few strange tests, such as killing a chicken. Not long afterward he is accepted into CHERUB. CHERUB is a group of kids all 17 and under who are top government spies. James goes through training, swimming, running, etc. he also learns a new language according to his ethnicity, and his is Russian. Not long afterward it¿s time for basic training. Basic training is the worst hundred days of you life- according to what he¿s heard. When he arrives at basic training he receives a partner: Kerry. Kerry is a tough girl, who is only eleven, but is already a black belt and fluent in Japanese. James and Kerry are off to a rough start. First, they have to go through an obstacle course, which Kerry gets ticked off at James for being to slow. Then, on Christmas night (they didn¿t even get a break) they are forced to spend the night outside in nothing but their underwear. They somehow manage to survive the night. Now, it is time for the final test: Survival camp in Malaysia. Back at training someone always watches over you. Out here, you¿re all alone with just your partner and a backpack full of supplies. At training you get punished for mistakes. Out here mistakes will kill you. Will they make it? If they do what awaits them afterward? James and the other characters are very believable- they have faults and weaknesses that make them pop out of the book. If the setting were anymore realistic it would be right there before your eyes. This book has everything- action, adventure, suspense, plot twist, even a hint of romance.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

The CHERUB series is briliant

I first heard of the CHERUB series on a forum I went on. I immediately went out and bought it. I wasn't dissapointed. The only bad thing is that only the first six will ever be available in America. But, it's so addicting, you'll have to buy the rest online. Like I did.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

My teacher made me start this book and after the first chapter i couldn't put it down, at least 3 time better than Alex Rider. I bought the whole series and intend on reading them all!!!!!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

OUTSTANDING BOOK

I loved this book. It takes you in and keeps you turning the pages wondering what happens next. When you finish it you get dissapointed but then are waiting for the next chance to get the next book in the series.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

BEST BOOK EVER

This book throws you in the action and makes it so realistic its very suspenseful and i recommend it to all.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

WORST BOOK EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i rate it a welll

WORST BOOK EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i rate it a welll deserved 0
in the beginning i thought the book was interesting but after a few chapters i realized how gross and unfriendly the main character James is. I mean he's 11 and he goes around with his 'girlfriend' who he meets on the mission and 'snogs' her all the time. when he is actually on his mission he practically forgets what he is doing hangs out with his 'girlfriend' instead of doing anything he was supposed to.
*spoiler alert*
at the end he only gets the navy blue shirt because the head of cherub feels bad for him getting a super weak unharmful disease. what 11 year old drinks, smokes or has kissed someone? this book is a bad influence on younger kids who might think james is cool which he is not. james, himself, thinks he is soooooo cool but in reality he is an idiot, arrogant, cocky and an (fill in the blank). DO NOT waste your money on the beyond horrible book.

Great read

CHERUB is an spy agency where the agents are children. Nobody would suspect a child to be dangerous because many adults think children don’t know anything and aren’t able of doing anything. So they are ideal spies. They can enter places and find out things adults wouldn’t be allowed to.

The Recruit is the first book in the CHERUB series, so the first chapters are an introduction to the whole series. We learn who James, the main character, is.

The next few chapters deal with James’ hard training and the last part of the book is his first mission. He has to find out if some people of a community are related to a terrorist group.

James is a young boy who doesn’t pay attention in school and gets frequently in trouble. Shortly after the death of his mother he is contacted by CHERUB with the offer to be trained to become a spy.

When reading all the things the young spies have to do and learn it is easy to forget that the characters are just teenagers if not for their behaviour. Other than his new job, James is a more or less normal boy. He gets in trouble, worries about his little sister and doesn’t know what to do with his life.

After finishing his training we still see that James is a teenage boy. During his first mission he notices he likes a girl and starts to be careless and needs to be reminded of what he should be doing.

I liked this book. Not only because the characters are not perfect, but because they are believable (if you believe that teenagers can be spies). The spies show great maturity for some things, but we can still see how young they really are.

It is interesting to see that the bad people are not all bad. They have families they love and are rather polite and not a danger to those they don’t consider their enemies. This creates an inner conflict for James, as he realizes there are not just good and bad people in the world, but many in-betweens.

The book is aimed at teenagers so some parts are predictable. We know that James will somehow pass the training, because he is the main character and is going to become a spy. We also know that he is not going to be killed and that his mission will have a happy ending. Although happy, like good and bad, depends on the point of view, as we see in the end.

But this doesn’t make this novel less enjoyable. Even though we know that James will pass his training and finish his mission it is nice to see how. And who is guilty of being a terrorist is a mystery until the end.

It was a very entertaining book and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Award Deserving

This a terrific book that is so richly infused with all the emotions a good book should create. It is a spy book that should be up there with Bond and Rider. If you're ever looking for a great series to get hooked on, this is the one.

Best spy/agent book ever!

This book is amazing! I was hooked from the very beginning, every chapter is action packed, and full of excitement! The characters are interesting, and you feel if your in the book with them going threw the grueling days of basic training, or high action on missions. This is one book for spy/agent book fans will not want to miss! Great for kids above 10!

Eh.

I only thought this was an "okay" book. It didn't wow me but it was decent enough for me to keep my interest. I will read it again, though, to get another impression on it.

Due to the teaser at the end of this book, I am looking forward to reading Mission 2: The Dealer.

Alex Rider vs. CHERUB

I read Alex Rider after I finished the first 11 books of CHERUB (12th coming out soon) and I couldn't get on to Alex Rider the way I got hooked to this book. It is an EXCELLENT book! Action from the first 3 pages! My favorite series of all time...ever!