Charlie Bone and the Time Twister

Charlie Bone is one of many of the children of the red king. His 'gift' is the ability to see a photograph and 'hear' the events that pertain to the time in which the photo was taken. The Yewbean's are ancestors of Charlie and relatives to the Red King as well. When the book opens, we read about Henry Yewbean, who is tricked and sent into the future with a marble sized ball called the 'Time Twister'. When there, he meets Charlie Bone, a descendant of his from the Henry's future. The story is about Charlie helping Henry escape from Bloor's Academy, which is an academy for gifted students, run by Henry's cousin, Ezekiel, where Charlie is a student and Henry is stuck there because of Ezekiel's plot to kill him. After many mistakes and misadventures, Charlie and Cook, along with several of Charlie's friends and his uncle, Paton, help Henry escape and return to his little brother, who is now in his 90s, because he is unable to return to his own time, for reasons explained in the book. With lots of twists and turns, this book definitely will keep the reader turning pages. Great for children, teens, and even adults. All in all, a pretty good story.

Charlie Bone has recently finished his first adventure: waking up a girl who has been hypnotized for eight years. Now, his second adventure is taking place when he's barely recovered for the first one: A mysterious boy from the past appears in the cold hallway of Bloor's Academy. His name is Henry Yewbeam, and for Henry, his troubles have only begun. A failed magician lives in the attics of Bloor's Academy. His face is little more than a skull with skin stretched tightly across the wicked face like wax. His name is Ezeikel Bloor, grandfather to Dr. Bloor and Great Grandfather to the head boy, Manfred Bloor. And Ezeikel wants Henry dead. Charlie and his friends make it their mission to save Henry and, if possible, get him back to the time period he belongs in. Many people are out to stop him: The Yewbeam Aunts, not to mention Grandma Bone, the Bloors, and the Beast, that stalks the ruin by night. Luck is against Charlie, as is time. He and his friends will need to act quickly, if Henry is to be saved.

Book #2 in the popular Children of the Red King Series. Kids love the fantasy, humor, mystery, characters, & suspense. Kids should read Book 1: MIDNIGHT FOR CHARLIE BONE before reading this one.

If you are into adventures and time travel you will like this book a lot because of time travel and adventure. In January 1916, it's the coldest day of the year when Henry Yewbeam puts on his blue school cape and takes his bag of marbles down to the freezing hall. Halfway through the game, Henry sees a marble rolling toward him. He picks it up. It is full of beautiful colors. Suddenly the walls start fading, the light is going. He feels himself disappearing. Henry writes on the floor, "GIVE THE MARBLES TO JAMES". Then Henry vanishes from the year 1916. In January 2002, it's freezing cold, the coldest day of the year. Charlie Bone is crossing the hall on his way to a lesson at Bloor's Academy. Something begins to happen a few feet in front of him. A boy in a blue cape materializes out of thin air. He rubs his eyes and says, "Oh my word! What happened?". Now Charlie Bone and his friends are looking for a place to keep Henry until they can find the Time Twister and get Henry back to the year 1916. Will Henry ever be reunited with his brother James? Will he get back to 1916? Read the book and find out! I also recommend The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches by Robert Stanek. He loves to end chapters with cliffhangers too!

The Timetwister is the sequel to Midnight for Charlie Bone and the second in the Red King series. This time, Charlie is trying to save a boy, sent out of his own time by a jealous cousin, slap bang in to the present day. Unfortunately for both boys, this cousin is not only very much alive, but is still resident in Blurs academy. It is a race against time, literally, to get Henry sent back to where he belongs before his cousin finds him. I thought this was better than it's predecessor, and I liked that book very much. Jenny Nimmo still has a warm, down to earth style, and we also get to read the story from other view points than Charlie's. Notably, Tancred Torson, one of my favourite characters. Simon Russle Bealle returns and does a splendid job. A very enjoyable series for all ages.