James Adams (CHERUB agents get to chose their own names) is settling in to life as a CHERUB agent. He’s never going to enjoy school, but the subjects are more interesting and he gets more individualised attention. More importantly, he’s about to head out on a four-agent mission, to infiltrate the Keith Moore Gang, a drug empire headed by a slippery man who has corrupt Met officers working on his payroll. Each agent has a designated target within the Moore family, and James finds himself getting close to Junior.
Class A deals with themes that may not be appropriate for younger readers – although my copy isn’t marked, current editions have a warning on the cover of each book in the series to this effect. Rather than portraying drug use and commerce in black and white terms, Muchamore has drawn a more realistic and grey-toned picture of illicit drug use, from under-age alcohol use to the insidiousness of category A (as cocaine, heroin, speed etc are known in the UK) drug use.
In Class A Muchamore also depicts his characters, including James, acting like actual people, often in ways that children are not generally portrayed – James has a problem with anger management, and has to endure the consequences of poor impulse control, including inflicting serious damage on a friend. When another friend tells James that he’s gay, James reacts honestly but not well, and this continues to be an issue for him for a while. I cannot think of another novel, let alone series, that has a juvenile male protagonist dealing with drugs, violence, alcohol and sex (albeit in the abstract for now) like this, let alone in as realistic and layered way.
The action is fast-paced, James is sympathetic – even when he’s homophobic – and relatable, and Muchamore has created a rich world in which to play. I went straight from Class A to the third in the series, and suspect that, if I had them, I’d be reading through to the end without interruption. - Alex
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