The Recruit by Robert Muchamore

The Recruit is the first title in the multi-volume CHERUB series. CHERUB is an acronym that no one seems to remember the exact wording for, but it is the name of a secret British government organization that uses orphaned or abandoned children as spies and secret agents to infiltrate criminal organiza-tions. James is an adolescent who steals electronics and fashionable shoes for his lazy mom so she can fence goods out of their home to make money for booze, being that she's a morbidly obese alcoholic who can't seem to leave her couch. He is bullied at school and falls in with a bad crowd in order to get some street cred and hopefully improve his reputation. Eventually he finds himself on the wrong side of the law, alone, and in a youth half-way house where he learns that things--and people--aren't always what they seem. The title alone should clue you in as to what happens to James, but you'll have to read it for yourself to find out exactly how the story unfolds...
I picked this book up on the recommendation of a fellow librarian who claimed that the boys in her school couldn't get enough of the series. Having read this first book, I can see why they are popular. The plot moves along at a pretty good clip so there's always something new: thrills--action--adventure--mystery--to focus on and carry a reader's attention. I know as a librarian and a Language Arts teacher that I should be happy if students are reading anything, but I do have a few minor complaints about this book.
First of all, the quality of the publishing is laughable. I never saw so many glaring typos in my life. I don't think it ever went through a proper edit for spelling or meaning. Sadly, most young readers won't notice the bulk of the usage flaws, but it was a real stumbling block for me as an adult.
Secondly, is it really necessary to put curse words in books with kids as the lead characters? It was difficult enough to decipher the British slang used. Why was the random cussing needed? It wasn't really central to the story, and there isn't a lot of it, but I just thought it could have been cleaned up a bit and been a much better book overall. Even one of the teachers in the story tells a youth to clean up his mouth or get punished if he uses cuss words in his presence again. Hel-lo!
Finally, there are plot elements that aren't for the weak-stomache crowd. The young man I gave this copy out to on the day it arrived, brought it back to me the next day almost in shock. The animal abuse, drunkeness, domestic violence, casual shoplifting attitude, drugs, smoking, and so on were way too much for him to handle. I put a bright YA (young adult) label on it for content, but even with that warning, I think I may have to limit readership to 8th grade and older. I'm debating sending the series on up to our high school where it might be more suitable.