The Recruit by Robert Muchamore - Matthew Brown

Recently, I read The Recruit by Robert Muchamore, and I thought it was fantastic. It is the first book in the CHERUB series and shows how a boy in care ends up being a secret agent.

James Choke was a normal teenager: he hated school and slumped around playing the Playstation. One day he found his mum, who ran a shoplifting business, dead on the sofa in his flat. James was soon rushed into care with his sister Lauren. James was sharing a room with a lad named Kyle. After a few days James was taken away in a van, drugged up and found himself awake in a strange building. He managed to find the place he needed to go to, and it was the head of CHERUB. CHERUB is an organsiation that trains children from the age of 10 to become secret agents. James was totally bemused when he was told this, but took the induction test. He passed with flying colours, and was soon undergoing basic training. But first, he had to change his surname, so he went for James Adams. Basic training at CHERUB was said to be the toughest experience of your life, and James was about to find out. It certainly was tough, and didn’t James know it. There were bruises all over his body, and every limb in his body was aching. After 1100 grueling days, James and his training teammates finally completed the basic training regime. They were now allowed to go on missions, and were given a grey shirt. The shirts were a sign of progress, so if you did well in many missions you would get a black one. James then spent life in and out of the CHERUB campus, either on missions or practicing his Karate.

Overall, this is a really good book for any boy. If you are starting to get bored with Alex Rider, you should try this as it is as realistic as any fiction book you can get.