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This plot summary may be too long or overly detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (November 2008) |
| CHERUB: The Recruit | |
|---|---|
 First edition cover |
|
| Author | Robert Muchamore |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | CHERUB |
| Genre(s) | Children's, Thriller, Spy novel |
| Publisher | Hodder Children's Books |
| Publication date | 30 April 2004 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 329 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0340881534 (first edition, paperback) |
| OCLC Number | 61439287 |
| Followed by | Class A |
The Recruit is the first novel in the CHERUB series, written by Robert Muchamore. It introduces most of the main characters, such as James Adams (James Choke), Lauren Adams, Kyle Blueman and Kerry Chang.
Contents |
Plot summary
James Adams is a 11 year old boy with anger management problems. He has a 9 year old half-sister, Lauren. Their obese mother, Gwen, runs a shoplifting gang. After getting in serious trouble at school, James returns home to watch his mother die after overdose in drugs and alcohol, partly due to Ron, his stepfather, who gave her the alcohol with her medicine.
James is sent to a children's care home called Nebraska House, where he shares a room with Kyle, a CHERUB recruit. Meanwhile James' sister Lauren is taken to live with her father Ron, causing James to lose contact with her. James is taken to his mother's house, which has already been ransacked by Ron. He finds his Mother's safe (in which the money she made from shoplifting was kept) and finds a mass of bank notes. After hurriedly cramming them into a bin liner, James leaves the combination, label and a picture of himself to anger Ron.
James finds himself on the CHERUB campus where the chairman, Dr Terrence McAfferty or "Mac", explains CHERUB to him and puts him through a series of entrance tests which he passes. He later discovers he was recommended for the organisation by Kyle Blueman.
James is admitted into CHERUB and following CHERUB requirements changes his last name to James Anthony Adams, after the old Arsenal footballer Tony Adams. He begins a personal fitness regime running 15 laps of the athletics track per day, as well as being taught how to swim by an older, fellow CHERUB.
All agents must have completed the tough 100 day 'Basic Training' to be allowed to participate in missions. Participants are allowed to quit at any time, but cannot start again until the session is finished. Basic Training is mainly carried out in the CHERUB campus, however there are trips to other countries for training in other environments, James was sent to Malaysia during this training and also made a strong friendship with Kerry Chang, his training partner.
James first mission is with Amy Collins and Ewart Asker (Mission Controller). In a village called Craddogh, A hotel and business facility called Green Brooke is to hold Petro con 2004, a meeting of major oil exucutives and Politicians is under threat by a new eco-terrorist group called Help Earth. They play as brother and sister at a hippie settlement called 'Fort Harmony' in Wales. James makes a relationship with Sebastian and Clark Dunn, cousins of one of their main targets Fire and World Dunn, James makes a friends with Brian 'Bungle' Evans, another suspect, while Amy lands a job at Green Brooke with Scargill Dunn, Fire and Worlds brother. In a hut at Fort Harmony, James finds equipment and believes that Fire, World and Bungle are making a bomb. He investigates the hut, sticking his hand inside various boxes.
In the night, Ewart arrived and woke Amy and James, driving them away in the car. He reveals that James inadvertedly put his hand inside a box containing anthrax spores, meaning he had a high chance of being infected. James is taken to a hospital where an anthrax expert examines him, and after a few days discovers that the anthrax in James's system is harmless. The harmless anthrax had been in the airconditioning of the building where the Petracon meeting was to take place for months, vaccinating the workers there, so only the politicians would be killed when the real anthrax was used.
Audio
An audiobook was released in the UK on September 21 2006 read by Julian Rhind-Tutt.
Awards
| Award | Category | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red House Children's Book Award | Older readers | 2005 | Winner[1] |
| Bolton Children's Book Award | 2005 | Winner[2] | |
| Medway Children's Book Award | 2005 | Winner | |
| Bishop Luffa Children's Book Award | 2005 | Winner | |
| Salford Children's Book Award | 2005 | Winner[3] | |
| Doncaster Children's Book Award | 2005 | Runner up | |
| Sakura Medal | 2007 | Winner[4] | |
| Richard and Judy Best Kids' Books | Fluent 12+ category | 2007 | Winner[5] |
| Kingston Young Readers Award | 2007 | Winner |
Footnotes
- ^ "Baby book wins children's award". BBC. 2005-05-11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4083884.stm. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
- ^ "Robert Muchamore wins Bolton Children's Book Award". SLA. 2005-07-04. http://www.sla.org.uk/blg-robert-muchamore-wins-bolton-childrens.php. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ "The 2005 Award". Salford.gov.uk. http://www.salford.gov.uk/leisure/libraries/library-sls/childrensbookaward/bookaward2005.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
- ^ "Sakura Medal 2007 Winners". ASIJ. http://www.asij.ac.jp/hslibrary/mol_library_news/sakura_medal/sakura_2007/sakura_medal_2007_winners!.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
- ^ "The eight best books every child should read, by Richard and Judy". Daily Mail. 2007-09-25. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=489774&in_page_id=1773. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
External links
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