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May 03, 2010

Nicole rated it:

This is a really fun book. It does have some similarities to Harry Potter with the magical aspects and it being set in, I believe, England. However, there are more non-magical people in these books and the school is run by bad people, so it's not necessarily a good place to be. My 9-year-old daughter started reading this at school, so I thought I'd read them too to see what they're about. I read this first book in about 3 days, very fast read. It's an enjoyable story, though I figured a few thin More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 03, 2011

Chak rated it:

My eight year old son is currently reading this and absolutely loving it, reading it every chance he gets and proclaiming how good it is after every session of reading. My husband and I have been reading Harry Potter to him at night, and he is very enthusiastically following that story. Charlie Bone books are very VERY similar to Harry Potter, but for a younger audience, and Midnight for Charlie Bone is the perfect book for him to read on his own and still get his "troubled boy discovers More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 13, 2008

Susan rated it:

The trouble with Charlie Bone is he much more like Charlie Bucket than Harry Potter and let's be honest--Jenny Nimmo is enthusiastically trying to channel some of Rowling's magic, so this is a bit of a problem. As I've said before, the heroes of these series tend to fall into two camps: the Horatio Alger throwback (orphan/survivor with grit who eventually is rewarded for his selfless acts) and the preternaturally mature and intelligent youngster who makes the adults around him look like bumbling More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Oct 15, 2009

Debbie rated it:

Well, I don't have the latest one, but I just finished books 1-5. Lots of similarities with Harry Potter, but this series is targeted toward readers who are a bit younger. Charlie Bone is a young boy who discovers that he can hear pictures talking. Once his aunts discover his talent, they send him to Bloor's Academy, a creepy private school where he will study with kids who are rich and/or gifted in music, art, or drama and/or endowed with magical talents. Each book tendds to focus on someon More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 12, 2010

Karyn The Pirate rated it:

Charlie Bone has grown up knowing that his family is a little, okay a lot, different than most. Little does he know that his family are descendents of the Red King and that he has passed down his powers to them. Now Charlie Bone has discovered an unusual gift-he can hear people in photographs talking! His scheming aunts decide to send him to Bloor Academy, a school for genius's where he uses his gifts to discover the truth despite all the dangers that lie ahead.
I really liked this book. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 25, 2009

Karen rated it:

First off, I have to admit that I bought these books because I thought (maybe I saw this on the internet somewhere, I’m not sure) that the story was similar to the Harry Potter books.

Yes, there is an 11 year old boy who has a magical “ability”. Yes, there is a special school for children with these abilities. Apart from that, the story is quite different. I had to push the Harry Potter thought out of my head and start thinking Charlie Bone, because wherever I got that idea…I was wro More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 05, 2009

Jill rated it:

Review by Jill Williamson

Charlie bone had a special picture blown up for his best friend’s birthday present. His mom picks it up from Kwik Foto, but when Charlie opens up the package, it’s not his order. He stares at the photo of a man holding a baby, mesmerized. Then a conversation floods his mind. He can hear a woman and a man talking about the baby. Charlie convinces himself that he imagined it, but Grandma Bone has her own theory.

His grandma enrolls him at Bloor’s Ac More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 18, 2009

Madysen rated it:

“Almost as good as Harry Potter!” This was the line I was repeatedly hearing on the internet about the so-called amazing Charlie Bone. Being a Harry Potter fan (actually, I rather hate the writing style but love the story) I quickly drove to my poorly stocked library and picked up the first book of the series. Never in my life since the Inheritance Trilogy have I been so disappointed by a book that may have had potential.

I have only a few things to comment on, the first being Jenny N More...

7 comments like (5 people liked it)

Feb 05, 2012

Felita rated it:

salah satu buku fantasy ringan..

selama ini charlie hidup dengan ibunya, kedua nenek dan seorang paman. kehidupan charlie biasa saja. dia punya teman, Benjamin, yang dianggap tidak populer di sekolah.

suatu hari ini, charlie meminta ibunya untuk mengambilkan sebuah foto di toko potret untuk hadiah ulang tahun Benjamin. tak disangka, foto yg dia terima tertukar dg punya orang lain. dari sini, charlie mengetahui ternyata dia termasuk anak yang diberkahi, salah satu keturunan More...

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Nov 02, 2011

Phillip rated it:

Midnight for charlie bone starts off and continues to be a interesting book, i read this book two years ago and i decided to read it as it was a gift given by a relative.

The book is about a kid (Charlie) who starts out as a normal boarding school boy and later finds he has special powers... He can hear voices from photographs, he uses these powers to investigate a missing girl's whereabouts who went missing several years back.
Later on in the book he finds he is a descendant of More...

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Oct 22, 2011

06BrandonL rated it:

Title of book: Midnight for Charlie Bone

Author: Jenny Nimmo

Summary: One day, Charlie Bone receives the wrong picture that he had asked to be expanded. He can hear the picture talking and soon discovers from his great aunts that he is a picture traveler. He is sent to Bloor's Academy where he meets other endowed children with special powers.
Charlie soon discovers that Miss Ingledew's niece has been missing for quite a while. With his endowed and unendowed fr More...

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Aug 15, 2011

Sophia rated it:

I remember when I read this a few years ago; I was absolutely stunned and hooked and had to get my hands on the rest of the series. I finished it fast and enjoyed it.
I read it again this year and am starting to wonder what got me so entralled. The book is a lot like Harry Potter--but nothing can actually compare--and the setting as well. A skinny boy without a father, raised in a family who hates him, to discover he has a magical power. It's your typical 'boy is about to embark on magical More...

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May 12, 2011

Sheryl added it

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6-When he is 10 years old, Charlie discovers that he is able to look at photographs and hear conversations and even thoughts that were taking place at the time the photo was taken, a legacy of his ancestor the Red King, whose descendants all have different magical abilities. Charlie hears one conversation that sets him on a search for a girl who has been missing for years, and when he begins attending Bloor's Academy, an elite boarding school for the rich More...

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Apr 27, 2011

Stefanie added it

Have you ever despised something about yourself and wished it would go away? Would you want to live in a school where there are students who can cast magic spells? If you want to read a book that may have a cliff hanger at every chapter, than you would definitly want to read "Charlie Bone and the Midnight Hour", by Jenna Nimmo where betrayal takes place.
Charlie discovers that he has a magical talent where he can invision a move right off a photograph and see what happened before More...

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Apr 25, 2011

Barky rated it:

Charlie Bone looks into a photograph one day and realizes that he can hear what the people in it are saying – something that does not go unnoticed by his very creepy grandmother. She immediately calls in his aunts to have him evaluated. When they discover Charlie is endowed they decide he must go off to school to properly train his talent. Charlie doesn’t want to leave his mother and sister and friend, Ben, but when he learns how precarious his family’s position is – they have no money and ar More...

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Feb 22, 2010

Drebbles rated it:

Ten year old Charlie Bone discovers he has a unique talent - he can hear the thoughts of people in photographs. Charlie's Grandmother Bone and her sisters are delighted that Charlie has inherited powers, the gift runs in the family and his late father also was one of the "endowed". They insist that Charlie attend Bloor's Academy where he can further develop his powers. Charlie reluctantly goes and soon realizes there are odd things going on at Bloor's. Before he quite knows exactly wha More...

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Aug 30, 2011

Jenn rated it:

I picked this up a while ago because it looked interesting. This past week, one of the librarians at my public library recommended it, saying it was like Harry Potter. Okay, is IS like Harry Potter in a few respects. There are evil adults for no reason (though it's way more like A Series of Unfortunate Events in that respect). The main character is orphan-like (though he's a lot more Charlie Bucket than Potter). There's a sort of magic (though a lot lamer and more left to chance than anythi More...

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Jan 10, 2010

Aly rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Feb 26, 2009

Rachel rated it:

I initially picked up this book after it was suggested to me by one of our local children's librarians. He said it was like Harry Potter, in that Charlie Bone discovers he has powers and is sent to a special school. I loved Harry Potter, so I figured it was worth a try. The book is kind of slow in the beginning, but picks up eventually and you start getting into the story. Charlie Bone lives with his mother and maternal grandmother Maisie, as well as his paternal grandmother Grandma Bone and his More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 26, 2011

Tiffany rated it:

I bought this for Ashley while in London and started reading it to check it out. I finished it Friday morning and thought about walking up to Trafalgar Square to get the next in the series. It is a childrens book and therefore a very quick and easy read. It is, in the Harry Potter category in that it deals with a school for kids with special abilities. I like that most of the kids are just exceptionally talented and not necessarily "endowed." The characters are quirky and fun (eve More...

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Jul 27, 2011

Seabirdicat rated it:

I approached it in a completely unbiased way and I have to say that this book was really bad. I think the author needs to spend more time with her characters. Everything about this book screams 'bland' at me. The characters, plot, style...everything is so BLAND! She writes things like "he said a mean thing and walked away" instead of saying "he said 'well you can go stuff your face in a bowl of poison mud for all i care!' and stormed off"... she sets up herself to describe th More...

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Nov 29, 2011

Karen rated it:

Meh. I read this one aloud with my 9-year-old, after he found it too boring to suck him in reading it on his own. This story was full of major plot holes and outrageously anticlimatic endings. Endings plural, as in there are several storylines that are built up as being super dangerous, nearly impossible feats for our heroes to accomplish, but then go off without even a glimmer of a hitch, or even much of an effort. There's even sandwiches involved. Or, in one case, you don't even see what More...

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Apr 13, 2011

David rated it:

I like the Harry Potter series, I truly do. But when it comes to a boy banding together with friends to solve mysteries with powers involved, the Charlie Bone series wins it for me. Midnight for Charlie Bone is the first book in the series, and I fell in love with it right away. There was a touch of James and the Giant Peach involved, in regards to the aunts in the story, and that only strengthened my love for the story. The character of Olivia in particular is a stand-out, which is something sh More...

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May 10, 2011

Krista rated it:

I listened to the audio book on this one. I hate to always compare books to others, but as I was listening I could not help but see some similarities in this book that I have previously seen in Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket. This book reminded me of Harry Potter in which the characters have special powers, for example Charlie can hear photographs and he attends a school in which others have powers as well. It reminded me of Lemony Snicket in the fact that this story was dark, several menacing m More...

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Sep 16, 2010

Xavier rated it:

What I liked about Midnight for Charlie Bone. Well for starters it is the first book in the series and that is usually the one where they explain everything and the time where you find out everything that will or has happened. Another thing the I liked about this book is that all of the endowed (people with special abilities) had cool powers, none of them were lame or stupid.
Things I disliked about the book. First of all is that right off the bat Charlie thinks he has enemies when More...

1 comment like

May 18, 2011

Deborah rated it:

Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo is a similar comparisome to Harry Potter. I have not done enough research to say which came first but Nimmo's book is not as well written. The boy loses parent, discovers magic powers, goes off to school, makes friends, good verses evil and book ends with an unanswered mystery. It was a quick read and not badly (but nothing great either) written. I enjoyed Charlie's relationship outside of school more then feeling much for the relationships in school.If y More...

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Mar 16, 2010

Joy rated it:

My neighbor recommended this book. It is definitely aimed at younger readers (I am rereading the series to get to the latest published book) but it definitely gets more involved as the series progresses. The plot has sudden starts and stops and isn't as fluid, but this gets better as her writing evolves.
It's in a similar vein as Harry Potter, but there are some major differences which makes it a worthwhile read. It takes place at an academy, but this is not a "friendly" school. More...

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Apr 18, 2009

Doris rated it:

This book is written for young adults/children, and therefore some of my comments may seem a little harsh for the story. It is a very well written story, but for the younger group.

It is a compelling read, with the hero showing marked similarities to Harry Potter (bad hair, magical parent, evil people at a school of magic). I admit - the lawsuit about this is the main reason I even read it the first time, and it remains a good read.

I just reread it, and the main thing that More...

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Jan 10, 2011

Molly rated it:

Charlie Bone is raised by his mother, hermetic uncle, a nice grandma and a mean grandma. He is ten-ish and has the magical ability to hear people in photographs speak. He is sent to Bloor academy by his 3 wicked aunts where he embarks on solving the mystery of a missing girl.

Young readers who like mystery or fantasy would like this book.

I personally found it tedious save the character of Mr. Odious and his 2 cats. I read it because of my 2011 resolution to be a better librar More...

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Sep 29, 2009

Athena rated it:

This book was awesome. I love the fact that the powers are new like the picture walking or bringing up ghosts. And how well Tancred and Lysander are awesome friends. And not every one has abilities.

This is a story about a boy named Charlie who dad vanished when he was little. Has mean grandma and aunts. But he has his friend Benjamen and his mom. He finds out he has special ability to go into pictures and hear what the people are saying. He gets sent to this school for genius' or kid More...

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