Best book/movie of the year

Way better than the movie version... but doesn't beat People's Republic.

I haven’t done posts in during the week for a while, but I saw this Daily Post topic and thought I’d write about it (and also because I wanted to see the new ‘published screen’). I’m not entirely sure whether the book/movie had to be published/released this year, or whether I’d just have had to read/see it this year, but I’ll go for the latter.

Best movie

I’m not a really big movie fan, but there have been a few good movies this year. I think Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 was very good, even if it did differ a bit from the storyline. I’d also like to put The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 on here, but I haven’t seen that yet (I’m going to soon, though). And the award goes to… HP7 – Part 2. Because making BD win without actually seeing it wouldn’t really work. Moving on…

Best book

I’ve read a lot of great books this year, but the winner has to be CHERUB: People’s Republic (click here to see my review of it). It was the first book of the second CHERUB series, and was published this August. I couldn’t find any faults with it… except that I have to wait until 2012 for the sequel!

What’s your favourite book and/or movie of the year?

CHERUB: People’s Republic – review

Today I am reviewing a book that isn’t Doctor Who-related. I know! It’s crazy! But I’ve just read this amazing book, and I had to share my thoughts.

Anyway, here’s the basic information:

• Title: CHERUB: People’s Republic
• Author: Robert Muchamore
• Release date: August 2011
• Part of a book series?: Yes, it’s the first book of three in CHERUB series 2
• RRP: £12.99 (UK)
• Pages: 407 (it’s the longest CHERUB book yet!)
• Overall rating: 10/10

So those are some of the basic facts. Now on to the actual review:

The book is a lot like any of the books in the original CHERUB series (see here), but there are two main differences:

1. The 3 books make one, long story. In CHERUB series one, each book was a different mission (and essentially a different story)
2. The main characters are different. A few minor-ish characters are back, but James Adams (the main character in series 1) and his friends are all grown up and, therefore, no longer part of CHERUB. It’s really quite weird with them gone…

People’s Republic is quite very exciting, with a few shocks are surprises, and I never wanted to put it down. unfortunately, I had to, but I still finished it in a few short days. I could go into more detail, but I don’t want to spoil anything. So you’ll have to buy the book to find out about Ryan, Ning and Ethan. Sorry.

Basically, this is an amazing book and though the old characters have gone, I can’t wait for CHERUB: Guardian Angel (the next book in series 2).

The cover!

Robert Muchamore reading CHERUB: The Recruit

Today I found a video of Robert Muchamore reading an extract of CHERUB: The Recruit. I personally am a big fan of the CHERUB series, and I just had to share the video. You can watch it below:

Like it? Below is the UK cover for the book:

CHERUB: The Recruit cover

The CHERUB series is absolutely brilliant in my opinion, but it is not suitable for younger readers. I had to make that clear. Below are a couple of useful links:

• CHERUB official website
• My CHERUB review

Grey Wolves – my initial thoughts

Book four out of seven of the Henderson’s Boys series is out now. In the UK, at least. For those of you who don’t know, Henderson’s Boys (HB) is a prequel series to the CHERUB series, and is set in World War 2. I am planning to do 2 posts about this book – my initial thoughts, and (when I’ve finished reading it) my final thoughts.

The cover is very nice. It is the HB logo underwater, which makes sense as the book is about stopping the German U-boats (submarines). The blurb makes you really want to read the book, which is always a good thing. On the inside of the back cover are all the HB books, and the title is finally revealed for the next book (book 5); it turns out it will be called The Prisoner. Exciting! On the inside of the front cover are all the CHERUB Series One books.

As well as the story, the book also has the first chapter of the first book of CHERUB Series Two – titled People’s Republic. The chapter is available online, but it is nice to have a paper copy to read.

So there are my initial thoughts. Stay tuned for my final thoughts, coming soon!!

Grey Wolves cover