The Escape (Henderson's Boys, #1)

The Escape (Henderson's Boys #1)

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09  ·  rating details  ·  1,313 ratings  ·  68 reviews
It is the summer of 1940, Hitler's army is advancing towards Paris, and millions of French civilians are on the run. Amid the chaos, two British children are being hunted by German agents. British spy Charles Henderson tries to reach them first, but he can only do it with the help of a 12-year-old French orphan. The British secret service is about to discover that kids wor...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published February 5th 2009 by Hodder & Stoughton (first published 2009)
more details... edit details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
The Book Thief by Markus ZusakThe Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John BoyneNumber the Stars by Lois LowryNight by Elie WieselEdelweiss Pirates ‘Operation Einstein' by Mark A. Cooper
YA Holocaust & WWII Novels
21st out of 156 books — 216 voters
The Recruit by Robert MuchamoreStormbreaker by Anthony HorowitzFledgling by Mark A. CooperSilverfin by Charlie HigsonRevenge by Mark A. Cooper
Teen Spies
6th out of 62 books — 15 voters


More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 2,049)
filter  |  sort: default (?)  |  rating details
Melina
This was simply amazing!

It begins with Marc. 12 years old, in a French orphanage, forced to work the worst jobs in a farm while the men of the village fight the Germans who are rapidly taking over the country.

Meanwhile there's Paul, the British boy who, along with his sister Rosie, has just been pulled out of his French school.

As Marc escapes the horror of his life, and Paul and his family run for theirs, they come to the notice of the British spy, Charles Henderson.

This is the first book in the...more
Sidharth Sirdeshmukh
The Escape by Robert Muchamore is one of the best books I have read this year. It is action packed and there are no long dialogue sequences. What I really like about the book is that it helps you learn how the CHERUB organization, from Robert Muchamore's original CHERUB series.
The book talks about how a boy, Marc, escapes the clutches of his evil orphanage master to go to Paris. On the way he meets a spy named Charles Henderson. They team up to fight the German Spies/Police, or Gestapo, and a...more
Alex Baugh
Robert Muchamore is the author of the very popular CHERUB series. These are series books about the orphaned minors who are members of CHERUB, which stands for Charles Henderson’s Espionage Research Unit B, and modern day spies working with British Security Service.

The Henderson’s Boys series is a prequel to the CHERUB series and takes place during World War II. It begins as people all over Paris are fleeing south before the arrival of Hitler’s Army, with one exception. Marc Kilgour, 12, is an o...more
Iffath
The Escape is set during WWII and starts off in a French orphanage where a boy called Marc desires to flee his dull life. As soon as Marc gets a (risky) opportunity he takes it. Somewhere else Rosie and Paul are escaping from the German police after their father, Digby Clark, steals some significant blueprints from a Jewish watchmaker who is determined to sell them to the Germans.
But then their father is injured, and doesn’t have a big chance of staying alive - his final wish is for the papers...more
Cam
In the debut book of Robert Muchamore's new prequel series to CHERUB, Henderson's Boys, a 12 year old French orphan, Marc Kilgour finds himself in a new unfamiliar world than that at the orphanage. This new world is Nazi controlled France in 1940. Marc, after stumbling into an abandoned house, wakes up to a very very painful Nazi interrogation. The house belongs to a British spy named Charles Henderson, who after returning to the house to find a badly beaten boy, decides to use Marc to locate bl...more
Javil Seton
In the novel The Escape by Robert Muchamore Hitler army has invaded France and millions of French civilians are leaving the country. Amidst the chaos, two British children are being hunted by German agents. A British spy Charles Henderson tries to reach the children before the Germans do with the help of a French orphan. This novel was a well written and never had a dull moment. It left you in suspension and had many twist in the plot. The chapters were not predictable and it had you guessing w...more
Roxanne
I rated this book four stars because it is quite captivating and the description really helps pull the reader into the story. The characters are also very developed and the story gives insight into the characters' backgrounds and they clearly state the purpose for their actions. The setting of the story is in the summer of 1940, where Hitler and his army invade Paris and attempt to attack Britain, the author weaves facts and descriptions into the story that add to you knowledge about the time f...more
Katrina Ly
i would have preferred to give this book a 4.5, but obviously i can't. i really liked this book and found the characters believable in their awesomeness and flaws. i enjoyed the plot and the only fault i can really find with this book is that it was a bit too light for my taste. but hey isn't that what all first books in a series are like?

for anyone whose thinking about reading this book...well, its mainly about this french orphan called marc who eventually meets this british spy called charles...more
Joshua
The book is a great book to read. It features lots of language features and includes a little bit of humor. The author does well to keep this story interesting and keep the visual thoughts in the readers head.

(view spoiler)[✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓...more
Rory
This is the prequel series to CHERUB, which is probably my favorite books series. Although I don't like it quite as much, it's still a very good book. It's not for everyone though. I would say it's aimed for an age group of 13-16. It's set in WWII, which I've been learning more about lately and it's a good way to learn the basics of the war. It has all the history right, except some of it is different in that the main characters are fake, but are doing things that really happened. Yes, there are...more
Owen
I read this book because it was written by an author I liked.
This book is " a book that teaches you about another time in history"
This book is based on the events of WW2.
This book starts off with a boy called Marc who is 12 years old and is an orphan. He escapes the orphanage and meets a spy called Charles Henderson. Then 2 children who are siblings also meet Charles called Paul and Rosie. From there they have to make it out of France and try defeat the Nazis.
I liked that the book was an easy r...more
Heidi
May 10, 2009 Heidi rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Junior-middle secondary boys reluctant to read, plus anyone who loves CHERUB
While The Escape took a little while to get going, so did the first of the CHERUB books, The Recruit. I suspect the problem is that knowing what the books are, overall, about going in to them focuses you on - in the case of The Escape - waiting for Henderson to appear.

The only annoying thing about this book is the cliffhanger ending. This is a new departure for Muchamore, and given that I'm reading this series as it is released, makes me impatient for the next one (and I'm already battling the y...more
Siripong/isb
This book is very fun and easy to read. I like the way how the author switches back and forth between the point of view of the the French orphan, the two British brother-sister and the spy. I think it is very clever and it makes me want to continue reading the book chapter after chapter. I think the story is interesting. I like the way the story is set in WW2, which makes the story a lot more interesting.

I really want to recommend this book anyone who want fun and easy book to read. The book is...more
Jennifer
I was intrigued to read about the beginning of the group that will become Cherub. The reading level here is beginning teen but the maturity level may be higher for some given the description of the war & orphanage violence. The characters were well developed, I felt like the story moved along quite well, and the settings were described well when necessary. Map in the end pages was handy.

It was an enjoyable read but I’m not sure I will read the entire series. This is NOT a reflection on my in...more
Scott
I love the Cherub books so was eager to read the prequels, slow beginnings as you would expect as it has to introduce the characters, following the lives of a young French orphan and a brother and sister pairing, the children of a british spy. Both start out in their separate locations but events eventually bring them together for the final cliffhanger chapter. One thing i will say for a young adult book Mucharmore certainly doesn't pull the punches when it comes to killing people, there is a LO...more
Laura
Dec 06, 2010 Laura added it
In this book, Muchamore describes many brutal events occuring when Hitler was around. Although not fact, I am sure many of these events are similar to ones that truly did occur in that time period.

Muchamore cleverly switches back and forth between the point of view of the most important and skilled British spy; a brother and sister who are British, left to find their own way, and whose main concern is to fulfill their father's dying wish; and a French orphan boy determined to get away and make...more
Kev
IT all sets during WW11, in a french orphanage where a boy called Marc Kilgour longs to escape his tedious life and takes the first prospect to do so.Meanwhile father of children Paul and Rosie is absconding for his life because of some essential documents.But it all gets worse when their father perishes.But now they will have to find a man named Charles Henderson to give the documents.The only thing two things for Paul and Rosie is to find Henderson and SURVIVE.Charles is one of the insufficien...more
Gina
I chose to read this book because someone recommended it to me. It completes the category of a book with a male main character on the bingo board. My favourite quote from the book was "I hope my brother's out there somewhere, Rosie choked. He's all I have left.". this is my favourite quote because it plays a big part in he story and it has a lot of emotion to it. It was very interesting as the book was about boys becoming spies for the french secret police at the time of world war 2. I liked thi...more
Mason L
Henderson Boys: The Escape
Hitler's army is advancing towards Paris, and millions of French civilians are on the run.

Amidst the chaos, two British children are being hunted by German agents.
British spy Charles Henderson tries to reach them first, but he can only do it with the help of a twelve year old French orphan.
The British secret service is about to discover that kids working undercover will help to win the war.

I really Enjoyed this book, Henderson boys is about the creation of Cherub, An...more
Dawn
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...more
Nick J
Apr 03, 2013 Nick J added it
So far I am stunned by this story. I feel like I'm watching the whole story right in front of my eye. I like the turns of events in the story when Paul and Rosies dad gets hit by a stray bullet and they don't have the phone number of the personalised that they need to go to. I say this is a very good book with lot of events happening and merging together without any error. I would love to recommend this book because it is a book we all have to read to know what the book is like.
Jesse Joy
The Escape follows Marc, a french orphan, during World War II. This is the first book in the Henderson's boys series, and begins with Marc escaping his orphanage. He wanders aimlessly, and tries to find safety amongst the dangers of World War II. Through chance he meets up with Henderson, who is a British spy. The book is the beginning of Marc's journey into becoming a secret agent. This book is written by Robert Muchamore and is prequel to Cherub, which is one of my favorite book series. Altho...more
Hrisha Jayshankar
I think that Robert Muchamore enjoys writing on kids risking their lives for the sake of saving their countries.Anyway,I really liked how he makes kids from different backgrounds come together and fight. The characters in this book are quite interesting.I look forward to read the next book. If people find this book interesting than they should give CHERUB by the same author a try and they wouldn't be disappointed.
:)
Anna
Apr 30, 2011 Anna rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: 2010
This was, really, a good book! It would not be my favourite of Muchamore's but it's still quite fabulous.

Marc is a 12 year old orphan who is taken under Charles Henderson's wing and trained to become a secret agent. It also follows the lives of Rosie, Paul and other children who also end up with Henderson.

It's worth a read, just not compelling enough to want to pick up the book after you've put it down for a bit!
Vaughn
A great series about a group of boys (and one girl) recruited to train as spies in Europe during WWII.
The series will not be available in the US for a few months, but will be a welcome read for boys who
have started the CHERUB series which continues the tales of young spy trainees in modern day London.
The author said in an interview that he writes books that boys will like...not ones that their mums will like.
Zach

These books are a parallel to the cherub series in that takes place in ww2. The main character is Marc who is a french orphan who along with the other major character, Paul, is taken in by Charles Henderson to become young spies against the nazi. This book is very action packed and is a great book to read when your done with cherub. I would recommend this book
Darol Rang
I love this series I am really into young adult WW2 books now after getting hooked when I read Edelweiss Pirates Operation Einstein.
The Escape is a brilliant original story, an orphan escape from a horrible orphanage during war time, as the series goes on it gets better and better. Robert Muchamore is now a favorite author of mine.
Kevin Smith
oh wow this is a great series i really enjoyed this first book, it gets you to keep reading, one minute all is good the next the Nazi’s are smashing a kids teeth, it really brings it home how tough it was for everyone back during ww2.
This is book 1 of the series i have read 4 so far they are all good.
Joe Conrad
An extremely addictive book, a great story, a great history lesson and on top of that a little bit of fun. This is my favorite series of books, I really enjoy them, I try to encourage my class to read them, it teaches history and a world when we never had cell phones, computers and McDonalds.
Colleen
WOW.

I litterally could not put this book down and as soon as I'd finished it, I picked up book two.
I knew this author held promise from reading People's Recruit but this, this is just so so much better.
Here's hoping that this series continues on an upward climb!
« previous 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 68 69 next »
There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »
L'évasion (Henderson's Boys, #1)
L'Evasion (Henderson's Boys, #1)
268199
Robert Muchamore was born in Islington, London in 1972. He still lives there, and worked as a private investigator up until 2005 and the critically-accepted release of Maximum Security.

The Hunger Games phenomenon is part of the huge YA / Children's book explosion that has grown, thanks to the British Rat pack of YA authors, Anthony Horowitz, Robert Muchamore, Mark A Cooper, Joe Craig and Charlie...more
More about Robert Muchamore...
The Recruit (Cherub, #1) Maximum Security (Cherub, #3) Class A (Cherub, #2) The Killing (Cherub, #4) Mad Dogs (Cherub, #8)

Share This Book

Your website

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »