Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo

Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo

Series:  The Children of the Red King #1

Published by Orchard Books on March 1st, 2003

Genres:  Fantasy, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction, Magic, Adventure, Mystery

Pages:  401

Format:  Audiobook

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★★★★★

A magical fantasy that is fast-paced and easy-to-read. Charlie Bone has a special gift- he can hear people in photographs talking!

The fabulous powers of the Red King were passed down through his descendants, after turning up quite unexpectedly, in someone who had no idea where they came from. This is what happened to Charlie Bone, and to some of the children he met behind the grim, gray walls of Bloor's Academy.

His scheming aunts decide to send him to Bloor Academy, a school for geniuses where he uses his gifts to discover the truth despite all the dangers that lie ahead.

Ugh I love this series with all my heart. This is my Harry Potter series.

Just finished my FOURTH reread of this book. Probably one of the very few books I ever reread. The audio is fantastic.

I love the magical system and the mystery of it all. I’m intrigued because I forgot what happened since my last reread and I hope to listen to the whole series.

Charlie discovers his powers and gets involved in several mysteries and makes new friends. These books are such easy reads and I can picture the school setting so well with the long hallways and creepy towers. We get introduced to quite a bit of characters but it's easy to know who's who by the end of the book. Everyone has different powers and all of the personalities are so different.

I loved the multiple mysteries that get introduced in this first book. The missing child, the mystery of Charlie's father and what is going on with those aunts?! There's also a bit of a love story when it comes to Uncle Payton. Not even to mention the magical cats (love the astrology reference there) and good old Runner Bean. It's easy to get caught up in this mysterious and wonderous world.

I highly recommend this to those who loved Harry Potter and other YA magical tales. It truly is such an underrated series. I’m still hoping for this to become a movie or a show!