Alex Martiros

Alex Martiros
The Fall 
Robert Muchamore
Action/Adventure
Just Right
Just Finished 339

1. At the very end of the book, James and Dana save Ewart, a mission controller's life. It is accidentally, though. James suspected that Ewart was keeping secrets from James about James being suspended from going on missions and James and Dana go and try to find out why. They end up in a parking lot with a gun pressed to Ewart's head, who they were following. James and Dana, because they are CHERUBS and black belted in karate, came in and handled the situation, keeping Ewart from dying at the hands of criminals. James and Dana get black shirts, the highest ranks for CHERUBS.  James really likes working with Dana. In the end of their mission, which wasn't actually authorized, Zara, Ewart's wife, takes them off suspension from missions, and Dana and James are so happy that they kiss. The problem with that is James has a girlfriend, and James sister, Lauren sees them. Lauren, who is good friends with Kerry, James girlfriend, rushes off and tells her. Now, because Cherubs are trained as black belts in karate, James knows that he will get a beating or hits from Kerry and is terrified. He hides in his room until breakfast, and then has to go down because he is absolutely starving. James sees his sister Lauren and rushes over. He asks how Kerry is reacting and Lauren says not very well. Kerry hates James guts and is coming to break his neck. When Kerry walks in, Dana walks in after her. Both girls start yelling at each other and James gets hit with Kerry's soup. The girls start throwing food around, and sooner than later, a massive food fight has started. The book ends with James coming to the realisations that one, two girls are fighting over HIM, and second, this food fight is going to make him a legend. 
2. I thought that the book, detail wise was really fantastic. The author added tons of details, some kind of gory, some made you grin, all of them made you able to picture what the author was talking about in your head. I think the theme in this book is very original, but doesn't have as much action as the other books in Robert Muchamore's series. That kind of made me not enjoy the book too much because I was expecting more action and more suspense than there actually was. But, other than that , the book was really good. The action that was in the book was very well written and every chapter ending made me want to keep reading on. The author was pulling me in and pulling me out, but mostly pulling me in. This is because most of the time, there was something going on that was interesting, but sometimes it seemed like the author was writing things just to fill the pages up. But other than that, the book was superb.
3. A theme in the book that I noticed was the ability to be tough. I have noticed this theme through a variety of characters. One person who I have noticed has the the characteristic toughness is James, the main character. First, James is stuck in Russia alone and his team members are dead. He is our age and has to get out of Russia, even though more than half of the city is looking for him, and not to offer him their well being. They think James has killed one of the most respected people in Russia, and most of the city is out to get James. There is a reward for his capture, and traitors to Russia usually are beaten or end up dead. Another reason why toughness is a theme in this book is because Bruce and James have to help this little cherub named Kevin get over his fear of height's and the only way to make him conquer his fear is to be super mean and force him to do something with heights. James and Bruce end up having to push Kevin off the edge of a small building, and make him do the obstacle course with the height. That is the only way for Kevin to get through basic training but James feels like a huge bully because Kevin is so afraid that he is crying and begging them to stop. Eventually Kevin realises that the only way for them to stop being mean to him is of he conquers his fear. Kevin jumps off the building voluntarily and makes it all the way through the obstacle course, even though that is his biggest fear. Kevin was tough for conquering it and Bruce and James were tough, although not by choice, to Kevin so he could make it through basic training. Those are only a few examples, but like all the cherubs are taught to say, "This is tough, but CHERUBS are tougher! " 
4. My favorite character is Dana. Dana is my favorite character because I think she is a LOT like me. Dana doesn't care what other people think about her. If her hair is super messy, she doesn't care. If her clothes aren't in style, she doesn't care. She is super independent and brave and loyal to her friends. Dana is independent because she doesn't need fifty girlfriends standing around gossiping, or clinging to each other. She is perfectly fine being alone, and doing her own thing. She is also an independent thinker, so even if someone tells her to do something, she thinks it over and makes sure there isn't a better option. Dana is brave because she has been on a lot of missions for CHERUB and she and James are black shirts, which is the highest CHERUB ranking. Dana has a lot of the same characteristics as me so I can really relate to her.
5. My least favorite character is... well in this book, I liked almost all the characters. The only character who I didn't enjoy was Ewart. I didn't enjoy Ewart because he lied to James and almost got himself killed in the process. Ewart lied to James about James not being able to go on missions because Ewart had enough evidence that he could have protected James, but he didn't. Until I found the reason why Ewart lied, I thought it was dirty, underhanded, and unnecessary. Even though I liked Ewart as a character before I knew that he lied, I was extremely surprised to find myself agreeing exactly with the book. Once James did not like him, I did not like him and I was shocked that I treated the main character as someone in real life that I would listen to, and try to follow. 
6. The ending was not at all what I was expecting, but my view of how it might end changed throughout the novel. At first I thought for sure the ending would be still based in Russia and in James escaping. But then once I read the middle, I thought for sure it was going to be all about Lauren and here mission helping the orphan and the mission about human trafficking. And then when the ending did come, it almost let me down a little bit. The ending was so anti climatic compared to the rest of the novel and the character's journeys that it was a disappointing ending. The one clue that I think the author gave was that James and Kerry had been fighting a lot and it was time they broke up, so I am not surprised that they did.