This is the story of twelve year old boy named James Choke. He has a half-sister named Lauren that he views as his real sister. Lauren’s father, Ron, who is horrible and abusive, doesn’t live with James, Lauren and their mother, Gwen, but he does show up from time to time and steals from them.
Gwen is well-off because she runs a ring of shoplifting thieves from home but she doesn’t participate herself. She takes orders and distributes them to the thieves who work for her.
James is always getting into trouble at school. One night, he goes to Gwen to tell her he’s been expelled and discovers that she is dead. He immediately calls an ambulance.
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"Cherub 1 – The Recruit by Robert Muchamore".
Later, Lauren’s father, Ron, asks to keep Lauren with him but he doesn’t want James so James is sent to an orphanage. His first day there, he is given pants and shoes and an orange t-shirt to wear. James goes outside and attempts to ask questions of the other young people there but always gets the same response; “Can’t talk to Orange.” In a rage, James barges into the director’s office where his is offered this explanation. He is at a specialized branch of the British government, a hub called CHERUB, where orphans are trained to be undercover operatives. The director invites James to the CHERUB training program and James accepts, choosing a new name and entering the 100 day basic training program.
At CHERUB, trainees are given different colored t-shirts, each with a specific meaning: Orange for guests – CHERUB agents are not allowed to speak to them. Red for those who haven’t yet passed the basic training. Baby-blue is for those who are teaching the basic training. Grey for those who have passed basic training. Navy blue is for those who performed especially well during a mission. Black for those who committed heroic acts during a mission. White is for teachers who were at CHERUB.
Orphans are able to start basic training when they are 10, even though some of the orphans arrive at the center when they are much younger.
Basic training is horrible; trainees get no days off, they aren’t fed well, they don’t sleep enough and they are sent on practice missions sometimes in the middle of the night. It’s really hard.
James is exhausted when he completes basic training but he is quite proud of himself that he has received a grey t-shirt to wear.
Shortly after James completes basic training, his half-sister, Lauren, arrives at the center. Ron has physically abused Lauren and was arrested and sent to prison when the police discovered a very large quantity of black-market tobacco products at Ron’s house.
James’ first mission is with one of his teachers, Amy. They choose new names for the mission, as do all CHERUB agents. James and Amy will be posing as brother and sister. They are assigned to secure information about a group of militant eco-terrorists called “Help Earth”. While on their mission, James is exposed to a biological threat, becoming very ill. He completes his mission, saves the lives of hundreds of people and is rewarded with a prestigious navy blue t-shirt.
I really enjoyed this story very much. The concept of utilizing orphans to fight against terrorism, because no one will notice them, is a very good idea and one that will keep me reading this series in the future.
As to why the author wrote this book or this series, I can only guess. Who knows why authors write what they do or even where their ideas come from? I do know that stories of strong young people, fighting against injustices and pretty much saving the world are very popular right now, as witnessed by the popularity of the Hunger Games series and the Divergent series. Perhaps this author is motivated by financial game, taking advantage of the popularity of stories of this genre.
The main message I took away from this story is that everyone has value and everyone can overcome really difficult situations with hard work.
I would definitely recommend this book to other young people who enjoy action packed adventure stories in a modern-day setting. It’s a story that holds your interest, I thought it was well written and I’m looking forward to more stories in this series.
