Clara’s Verdict
Robert Muchamore’s CHERUB series occupies a very particular niche in British children’s and young adult fiction: intelligent, unpatronising spy thrillers featuring teenage protagonists who are genuinely competent rather than simply fortunate. Class A is the second instalment, and it raises the stakes considerably – James Adams is now working his biggest mission yet, and the moral weight of what CHERUB does to children has begun to accumulate in interesting ways. Simon Scardifield’s narration is well suited to the material.
About the Audiobook
James Adams is thirteen years old, a trained intelligence operative, and now tasked with infiltrating the network of Europe’s most powerful cocaine dealer. The premise sounds absurd until Muchamore reminds you why CHERUB exists in the first place: adults never suspect children of spying on them. James and his colleagues are not child soldiers – they are carefully trained professionals who happen to occupy bodies that adult criminals dismiss entirely.
What Muchamore does well, and what distinguishes CHERUB from lighter spy-for-kids fare, is his willingness to treat his characters as morally complex. James is not a good boy making good choices – he is a bright, sometimes selfish, often impulsive teenager who is also genuinely capable and committed to the mission. The drug trafficking operation provides adult-scale stakes, and Muchamore does not shy away from the reality of what he is asking his young protagonist to navigate.
The Narration
Simon Scardifield narrates, and he captures the particular register of teenage voice without condescension or caricature – James sounds like a real adolescent rather than an author’s approximation of one. The pacing suits Muchamore’s chapter-length action sequences, and at just under six hours, this is very much an audiobook that rewards the single extended session.
What Readers Say
Rated 4.8/5 from 8 Audible UK listeners, with reviews uniformly enthusiastic. ‘Amazing – full of twists and turns,’ wrote one reader concisely and accurately. The CHERUB series has long been a favourite of reluctant young readers precisely because Muchamore refuses to talk down to his audience, and this second book has solidified that reputation. Readers returning to the series in adulthood consistently report that it holds up – a good sign for any children’s audiobook.
Who Should Listen?
Ideal for young listeners aged 11 and upwards who enjoy action and intrigue over fantasy or science fiction, but equally worth recommending to adult listeners looking for intelligent, well-plotted thriller fiction without the requirement to wade through 500 pages of adult novel. Also an excellent choice for parents searching for something their teenager might actually want to listen to on long car journeys. Best enjoyed in series order, beginning with The Recruit.
Listen to Class A on Audible UK and keep tabs on James Adams’s increasingly complicated career.
