Customer Reviews

The Escape (Hendersons Boys)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was a bit puzzled as I read a good portion of this book and had not yet met Henderson - I kept thinking, "Where is he? Isn't he a key character?"

By the time Henderson came on the scene (more than halfway through - though his name does pop up early in the book), I better understood what the author had done for the first half of the book. His careful construction of the lives and stories of siblings Rosie and Paul (children of British spy Digby Clarke), and also the parallel story of Marc (a 12-year-old who escapes from an orphanage) does a fantastic job of painting a shockingly realistic portrait of not only the children and their lives and losses during the German's mad rush forward into Paris, but also the suffering and starving French soldiers and the brutality of the German (particularly the Gestapo) officers. There are many well-detailed examples of injured and exhausted refugees, bombs devastating cafes where people drinking a cup of coffee are sometimes killed by buildings collapsing and catching fire. The author does not shy away from death or telling the truth of how awful war is.

At the same time, the creativity and spunk of the children is inspiring (I loved Paul's drawings), and when Henderson meets up with Marc and then brings the three children together with him, his clever ideas to outwit the Germans and keep himself and the children alive kept my eyes glued to the page. The children all are forced into growing up in a hurry as they learn that sometimes you have to kill in order to survive. A very powerful story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, with a somewhat painful cliff-hanger ending that will make you wish you didn't have to wait for the next book in the series.

This book is almost 5 stars, I must admit I loved it, and it came close to being better than Fledgling Jason Steed, but not quite.
I think its better than Robert Muchamores Cherubs series. You learn so much about history that makes it brilliant.
The story brings 2 charactes togther over the course of the book.
So why only 4 stars and not 5? Well Robert Muchamore did the same thing he did with Cherub, the same thing that Horowitz did with Alex Rider, The same thing they did with Young James Bond, Tom sawyer, Oliver Twist. They made all the children characters Orphans. It started in an Orphanage so I was thinkg, "here we gao another orphan" Then another two kids had a dad, but the mother was already dead, a few more page and now there dad was dead so now they are also Orphans.
Why are most of the young adult books written about orphans, its pathetic. Can't tehy write a story without an orphan? Any back to the book, its a really good read.

The back of this book has a warning, "Not suitable for younger readers". It is with good cause. This is an excellent book. Muchamore's ability to write adventure and also draw you into his characters is fantastic. However, he is also very realistic in his descriptions.

This is wartime France. People are dying, by the hands of the Germans and by starvation. There is no food in the city and refugees are forced to live in squalor. Our main characters may be spared that fate, but it is all around them and described in wonderful detail in the book.

There were also a couple of instances where sexual tension was described. It would be fine for a 12 year old or up, but I wouldn't want to answer my 9 year old's questions, had I let him read it.

I will put this book on the shelf, but when my son is old enough, I will definitely be letting him read it. It's a wonderful book for the right age group.

I love this book deals with history in a way that make it come alive for the reader. Furthermore, in this day of instant everything, I think it's a great way to help teens understand that the world wasn't always just a text message away and information wasn't just there under your fingertips waiting for you to access it.

I have read all of Robert Muchamores CHERUB books which i recommend all teens to read. And this book is just as great as them. It is completely different than CHERUB but just as good and catching. Great!!

I purchased The Escape for my 13 year old son who read it in no time at all along with the rest of the series. He really enjoyed it and recommends it highly!!!

Robert Muchamore's books are great adventure tales. I have enjoyed all of the Cherub series and now enjoyed the first in this new series which tells the story of the beginnings of the Cherub spy group of kids. I am looking forward to the next title in this series and also in the Cherub series. I will purchase them from Europe even though it is more expensive because I cannot wait!!