Robert Muchamore is behind some of the best novels available to young readers.

His CHERUB series is credited with shaking up young adult literature, with realistic language, unconventionally sophisticated themes, and portrayals of heroes that challenge tradition.

His latest series tackles concepts like corruption, protection rackets, and late-stage capitalist failure, with a twist on the tale of Robin Hood. The ninth book in the series, Robin Hood: Fury, Fire and Frost, was released earlier this month.

Muchamore told Jack Tame he’s always been fascinated by the tale of Robin Hood – this very old story that has been passed on and reimagined over and over again.

“It’s this kind of legend that's been around for so long, and everyone gets to interpret it in their own way.”

His version of the story is a more modern take, set in a contemporary world with a 12/13-year-old Robin Hood that's very similar to most modern children.

That similarity can be something of a challenge though, as Muchamore explains that over his twenty years of writing for children, it’s becoming a bit harder to stay in touch with kids.

“You really do have to be humble and talk to kids, and listen to what they say.”

“Kids are quite ruthless,” Muchamore explained.

“They’re always quite ruthless if you get something wrong or you use a phrase that isn’t hip anymore or something like that.”

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Lorde has described her fourth album as her rebirth.

‘Virgin’ is her attempt to make a document that reflected her femininity, which she described as “raw, primal, innocent, elegant, openhearted, spiritual, masc”.

It deals with themes of gender identity, body image, and mental health, a more introspective album than its predecessor ‘Solar Power’.

Estelle Clifford joined Jack Tame to share her thoughts on the album.

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Apple in China by Patrick McGee

After struggling to build its products on three continents, Apple was lured by China’s seemingly inexhaustible supply of cheap labor. Soon it was sending thousands of engineers across the Pacific, training millions of workers, and spending hundreds of billions of dollars to create the world’s most sophisticated supply chain. These capabilities enabled Apple to build the 21st century’s most iconic products—in staggering volume and for enormous profit.

Without explicitly intending to, Apple built an advanced electronics industry within China, only to discover that its massive investments in technology upgrades had inadvertently given Beijing a power that could be weaponized.

In Apple in China, journalist Patrick McGee draws on more than two hundred interviews with former executives and engineers, supplementing their stories with unreported meetings held by Steve Jobs, emails between top executives, and internal memos regarding threats from Chinese competition. The book highlights the unknown characters who were instrumental in Apple’s ascent and who tried to forge a different path, including the Mormon missionary who established the Apple Store in China; the “Gang of Eight” executives tasked with placating Beijing; and an idealistic veteran whose hopes of improving the lives of factory workers were crushed by both Cupertino’s operational demands and Xi Jinping’s war on civil society.

Apple in China is the sometimes disturbing and always revelatory story of how an outspoken, proud company that once praised “rebels” and “troublemakers”—the company that encouraged us all to “Think Different”—devolved into passively cooperating with a belligerent regime that increasingly controls its fate.

The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney

Gordon and Sarah Rutherford are normal, happy people with successful fulfilling lives. A son they adore, a house on the beach, a safe, friendly and honest community in a picture-postcard town on the Ayrshire coast. Until one day Bonnie the lab comes in from the beach alone. Their son Rory has just gone - the only trace left is a single black Adidas slider.

Their lives don't fall apart immediately - while there's still hope (and no body) they can dig deep and try to carry on. Rather it's a process of abrasion, a wearing away of that happiness and normality; a slow degradation, a gradual breakdown - until they'll never be the people they were before. This sort of tragedy impacts a whole town - does the community still feel the same after? What are folk saying about you? Who are your friends? Who can you trust? When the worst thing has happened and you've lost everything, you either go under or you rebuild, start again. What could be worse than your child disappearing?

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