BEWARE. THIS MAY BE MY LONGEST REVIEW YET.
I had a lot of problems with this book. I loved the Alex Rider series. I loved the Gallagher Series. I could barely get into the Genius series by Catherine Jinks before I had the urge to throw it at the wall. There are a ton of books I could compare Cherub to. To be brief, it wasn't all that bad. It was interesting enough that I got through it okay, but there were so many things that got on my nerves.
First off, are the characters. James, the main character, is 12-years old, yet he gets drunk, finds himself in police custody, and deals with an abusive stepfather. The actions he takes, it makes him seem like he's supposed to be older. His younger stepsister, Lauren, and how he talks about how he worries about her constantly, made it a complete shock to find that Lauren in 10-years old. Instead of being a responsible older brother, turns out he's only 2 years older than his sister. I had to keep reminding myself throughout the book that James was still only 12-years old, because he didn't act like it.
Next, is my understanding of what makes James spy potential. They call James a troublemaker, but intelligent. I couldn't find any evidence of why he might be intelligent. The way they measure, is by how quickly he can calculate sums in his head. Okay, he's a human calculator, so what? How is that useful? A characteristic of a spy should be cleverness, not intelligence. He seemed pretty stupid to me. He never used his head, and pretty much acted just like a 12-years old. Bravo.
Now onto the plot. A little less than half way through the book, James begins his basic training. Two-thirds of the book, and James finishes his training, and shortly goes on his first mission. Thus ends the book when his mission ends. I liked reading about James harsh training the most. It's about survival, and being pushed to your limits. They have to endure 3 months of nearly no sleep and endless training for 100 days straight. If you get an serious injury, or quit at anytime during the whole time, you are forced to start over from day 1 when the next training course begins. This was my favorite part because these recruits actually start to use their brains and resources in order to survive. It was interesting to read. I loved this part.
The mission, well I couldn't get into it. James acts like a whiny 12-year old, and thinks about who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. It ends the book talking all about moral and common sense, and good and evil. Basic theme for younger readers. Which may be why James is portrayed at a younger age. Which is why it annoyed me so much. Many books have that same theme, but it isn't as direct and obvious as in this book.
Many books have ingenious plot ideas, yet seriously lack in characterization. This book lacked in both areas. A spy school, may be a very interesting idea to write about, but it isn't original. The characters seemed so fake and artificial. This book didn't make much of an impression on me.
My Rating: 6 out of 10 stars
