The Recruit by Robert Muchamore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: 2004
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Point of View: 3rd Person & Masculine
Recommended Age:11+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Espionage
BLURB:
CHERUB spies, 17 and under, hack into computers, bug houses, download crucial documents, and Do Not Exist. James, recently orphaned, is their newest recruit, and brilliant in math. After 100 days grueling training, his mission begins.
REVIEW:
SCHOOL FOR SPIES!
Pretty awesome, right? I thought so, too, when I first read the blurb. It deeply befuddled me to see the low amount of readership it had, if we compare to the Alex Rider or even The Gallagher Girls series one, but oh well, we can’t make sense of every single thing.
But now I see why or, at least, have a good theory. This is a good story and it exploits a very good concept. The fact that the level of experience is determined by t-shirt colors makes the school seem even more special. Also, the classes there look fairly engrossing… if only we got to attend a few of them. I remember in The Gallagher Girls series the settings would often be the classes themselves, but not in this.
James feels lucky of having integrated the CHERUB secret system, but his mind is often on other things. Everywhere he goes, he gets in trouble by acting recklessly. It becomes SO annoying after a while. Alex Rider isn’t like that! Following James’ adventures felt ordinary. The characters around him themselves are not ones worth of getting attached too, expect for the cool headmaster we barely see.
The mission honestly bored me. Everything before that kept me relatively interested because it was building to something (and that is why I will keep on reading the series) but the undercover operation seriously lacked the suspense we feel when reading an Alex Rider or Gallagher Girls one. I’m just hoping the author realized that, too, and wrote the sequels with a considerable dose of that.
I’m not surprised I liked it, seeing that spies can never actually be ‘boring’ but I’m radically disappointed in the action.
<
Hit or Miss Books 
I love Ally Carter’s other series and have been meaning to try her Gallagher GIrls, I really should, I know I will like it.
Sorry this didn’t quite live up to that series but still, it does sound like it was interesting, except for those boring parts that is. 😉
LikeLike
I think if you like these stories enough, this book will be a good one to check out just until a better one comes along. I like the premise, and I’ve always been a fan of Carter’s Gallagher Girls, so I’m going to say, maybe?
LikeLike
When I pick up a book that promises suspense, I want it to be suspenseful. I want to be kept at the edge of my seat, i want to be kept guessing, I want my heart to beat fast! If I don’t get that it’s a bummer. Sorry your expectations weren’t met.
LikeLike
Hmm I think I tried it when I was younger but I don’t remember a lot about it I confess.
LikeLike
I remember reading this when I was younger, and I gave up after two or three books. I think I got bored of the characters- especially James and Kerry. Hope you enjoy the sequels more, though, if you try them!
LikeLike