Midnight for Charlie Bone
Written by Jenny Nimmo
Illustrated by Chris Sherban
Reviewed by Graham K. (age 10)
This book is about Charlie Bone who is a descendant of the mysterious Red King who was said to have supernatural powers. All his descendants would receive these powers. But Charlie still hasn't found his gift. He's glad too because if he is endowed he has to go to Bloor's Academy where he can only see his mom on the weekend. And if he gets detention he can't see his mom! Once he discovers his power (which is to hear the thoughts of people in photos and actually go in and ask the people for help and such), he has to go to Bloor's. Once at Bloor's he is part of the music department and soon makes friends. But some people don't want to be Charlie's friend and Charlie suspects that they are involved in something very, very dangerous.
I like this book because it is a very fascinating plot and involves lots of sneaky and mysterious characters. My favorite character was Mr. Ominous because he helps these three cats called the flames do their secret work and because he is very sneaky and pops up here and there. This book is #1 in the series Children of the Red King. It is similar to the other books because they all have the same main character and they are all continuations of the first. This book is sort of like Harry Potter in the way that there are magic people who do magicical things and at school there is one group of kids that Charlie is part of and another group that are their enemies.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy/adventure books with a hint of mystery. I also think that audiences 3rd to 5th would like this book better because they might be better at reading and understanding the plot better than younger kids.