Midnight for Charlie Bone

Charlie Bone is an AMAZING series, if you like Harry Potter or you're looking for something similar at a slightly lower reading level/appropriate for a younger age, Charlie Bone is perfect!

Midnight for Charlie Bone is a great read. I enjoyed reading about the school for musical geniuses, The Bloor Academy, and it is interesting that only a few of the students are "endowed" with some sort of magical powers--the rest of the students are just geniuses in the area of art or music. Charlie Bone's family is dysunctional, yet stuck on who deserves to be endowed and who does not. They do not see their own faults, which always makes for an interesting situation. Of course there are similarities to Harry Potter, but I was intrigued with this book for different reasons. Harry Potter is similar to many books before it too, but Potter just happened to hit the popularity jackpot. Midnight for Charlie Bone stands out on its own, and is a very worthy read. Sometimes I think readers forget that we are all critics, but it is okay to enjoy what you are reading, even if it is a kids' book. I don't think there is an age limit for good literature, and what makes a book good is the desire for a reader to want to finish what is being read because the book presents elements of intrigue that keep that book in your hands up until completion. Charlie Bone has the potential to be a great series. The first in the series is excellent and the background story of "The Children of The Red King" can add more surprises as the series continues. The coolest part is that all "endowed" children have powers, but they aren't taught spells and the like, they just have to discover what their powers are. The vast array of already presented characters and their very different powers sets this book apart from the Potter series and in my next review I will not even mention Mr. Potter. This is a wonderful book.

The mysterious powers of the legendary Red King have been passed down through his descendants. No one has been born with all of the Red King's powers; however, one or two of the powers (A.K.A. "gifts" and "endowments") turn up unexpectedly in someone who has no idea where they came from. Some of the people who receive a gift use it for good, some for evil. When a child is found who shows signs of having a power, they are sent to attend the Bloor's Academy. Charlie Bone was a normal ten-year-old boy. His father has been dead most of his life, or so he and his mother thought. Living with them are both his grandmothers and Uncle Paton. Grandma Bone is snobby and loves to remind everyone that before she married Mr. Bone, she had been a Yewbeam. The Yewbeams were an ancient family, their history littered with artistic people who had more unusual talents. Charlie's family tolerates her only because the Bone family is so poor and Grandma Bone purchased everything for them, including the house. But Grandma Bone stayed close because Charlie's father had been one of those with powerful magic. Even though Charlie never showed signs of having a gift, it did not mean that one would not show up later. This is exactly what happened. One morning Charlie looked at a photograph and could hear the thoughts of the people in it! Charlie is horrified, but Grandma Bone and his terrible aunts are delighted. This meant Charlie had to attend the Bloor's Academy during the week and only spend the weekends and holidays at home! Once there, Charlie makes a few friends and learns that some of his classmates have equally mysterious powers. With his new talent, Charlie learns of a baby that had been adopted by mean people. The biological aunt had been searching for the baby girl for years. When Charlie and his friends find out that the girl is someone at the academy, the search is on! But the girl has no idea of her past, so the small team must figure out which student it is, how to bring back her memory, and help her escape her cruel guardians who want to use her powers for evil. ***** Think of this book as a type of Harry Potter for the younger kids. The book is broken down into titled chapters, a chapter book. The students do not learn spells and magic. They learn the same thing normal school kids are taught, but also how to hone their special talent(s). As in real life, good verses evil. Charlie and his friends have to decide what the right thing to do is, and then how to go about doing it, without the bad guys finding out and stopping them. This seems to be the first of a series. The author, Jenny Nimmo, has written this book so that the story can stand alone, however, the reader is left with a few questions that may be addressed in future adventures with Charlie and his friends. I found this tale to be well written, with very good morals, and extremely entertaining. Highly recommended reading! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

To give an idea of where I'm coming from, I'm a law student, graduated from college with university honors and an excellent GPA. I read children's and young adult literature because it can be more honest in the positive ways that adult literature so rarely is and, frankly, children's and YA lit is more fun.So, having read hundreds of YA authors and probably around 1000 YA and children's books, I solidly believe that Midnight for Charlie Bone is one of the freshest books I've read in some time. It was a pleasure to read and kept me away from my law books for an entire afternoon. The characters were people I could believe in--people I felt I could trust. After suffering through Harry Potter's descent into futile adolescent angst, encountering Charlie was a relief. I'll be rereading Charlie Bone in ten years while my Harry Potter books are long ago shipped off to the used book store.(Some reviews have mentioned that certain aspects of the book were not well enough thought out or explained. The point is well taken, but somewhat irrelevant. If you want an encyclopedic examination of a magical world, read all of Tolkiens voluminous and wonderful works. If you want a good story filled with good people, Charlie Bone will be more than enough for you.)

Midnight for Charlie Bone was a great book. From the reviews I've read, I know that many people think it's a bit too similar to Harry Potter. A few of the names are similar, but really, the story is very different. The characters were interesting and creative. The plot was deep, but not so much as to make it confusing. It was an easy read, but interesting all the same.I would suggest it to anyone looking for something to hold them over till the next Harry Potter book is realeased. Congratualtions to Jenny Nimmo for writing a superb book that was similar and all her own at the same time.

Charlie's aunts had given up all hope that he would show signs of having some of the mysterious and magical powers of the Red King, which are passed down through his descendants. Some of the gifts are evil and some are good. Some of them turn up unexpectedly...as in the case of Charlie Bone. After years of living life as a normal little boy, he begins to hear people talking in photographs. His horrible aunts are delighted to discover that he takes after their side of the family. They immediately enroll him in the gloomy Bloor's Academy for gifted children, forcing Charlie to leave his best friend behind. Still, Charlie tries to make the best of it and is able to make some new friends at his academy. But Charlie quickly becomes embroiled in the search for a stolen baby whom no one wants him to find. As Charlie struggles to master his magical gifts and to fit in with his fellow classmates, he begins to uncover old clues to more than one mystery...Midnight for Charlie Bone was an absolutely delightful children's book following in the wake of Harry Potter's popularity. I am not saying that it is a Harry Potter copycat, no indeed. The plot is quite fresh and original and Charlie was a great character. Jenny Nimmo did such a wonderful job at capturing how a little boy thinks and it was really fun to see how Charlie felt about everything that was going on and how he puzzled through old clues. All of the characters were well developed and the plot was intriguing. If you are looking for a book that you will love almost as much as Harry Potter then this is the book for you! (If you don't want to pay extra for the library binding, look for it at your local school's book fair in paperback.)