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capturedinwords 's review for:
Midnight for Charlie Bone
by Jenny Nimmo
Now first let me get this out of the way. A lot of people think Charlie Bone is a downright rip-off of Harry Potter. I'm here to tell you that No, it is not. In fact it is very different. YES it does have a character who finds out he has a magical ability, and YES he gets sent to a school/academy where other children have these magical powers (although the majority of the children at the school don't have powers, and the powers don't involve wands and brooms). That's about all that is similar to Harry Potter in this series, and I find it sad how people won't give this series a try because of that. A "magical school" shouldn't be left only for Harry Potter, I believe it can be used in many different ways so that the idea never feels the same. And this is coming from a Harry Potter fan.
Anyway... on with the review shall we?
Charlie Bone is a story about a young boy who discovers he is "endowed", meaning, has a magical power, and can hear people in photographs. He is then forced by his grandma to go to Bloors Academy, a school for endowed children, as well as children who are just very smart. The children at the academy are split into three groups with their own color, judging by their endowed power or prodigy; blue for the musical, purple for the drama group, and green for the art group. All the children must wear a cape with the color of their group. Charlie Bone is set into the music group, although his power doesn't have to do with music but he has no other talent, so screw it, he's put in the music group. This academy does not seem similar to Hogwarts at all to me, as all the classes are basically normal such as English, math, music etc. The academy is run by the evil Bloor's family, and it's obvious they are keeping something secret from everyone. And of course, it is Charlie's job (as well as his friends and a family member) to reveal what the Bloor family is hiding.
That's the basic storyline, without getting into spoilers, so now let's talk about if this book is good or not. It is obvious this book is for a young age, It even seems less dark and more basic then Harry Potter, So I would say it is a great book to start younger kids on. However, I believe this book can be enjoyed by any age, as I am 18 years old and I still thoroughly enjoyed my time reading Charlie Bone. Although I do feel that I would have liked it A LOT more if I was younger. When I started reading this book I knew what to expect, and I was in a 'mood' to read a easy and quick adventure fantasy novel. This book gave me exactly what I wanted, a cute, fast read, that took me on an adventure.
I don't have all praise for this book, there is still a lot of things that could have been improved on. Let's start with the characters. The personalities for the characters were pretty basic and I found that I didn't really enjoy them that much and at times they seemed to lack emotion. Besides Charlie's uncle Paton. Uncle Paton is the best. I was already sort of expecting basic character design though, because this is a book that's leaned towards a young audience, but I still think it could have been better. The writing style was pretty good, although at times it switched character in the next paragraph and I feel it would have been better to make a pause in between switching characters by adding a line/sub-chapter type of thing. I'm not sure what it was about this book (maybe because it was a very easy read) but I found that I could picture every scene perfectly in my mind while I read, so I mean, that's good. The overall plot was good, but at times it seemed to be lacking, and I wish there was more fast paced adventure in between.
With its flaws I still thoroughly enjoyed Midnight For Charlie Bone, and I will be continuing the series. I totally recommend Charlie Bone to any parent who would like to introduce their child to a new book, or just to anyone of any age who wants to read a quick, light-hearted (yet still somewhat dark) story. This book is not at all as good as Harry Potter, but it's still a great adventure
Anyway... on with the review shall we?
Charlie Bone is a story about a young boy who discovers he is "endowed", meaning, has a magical power, and can hear people in photographs. He is then forced by his grandma to go to Bloors Academy, a school for endowed children, as well as children who are just very smart. The children at the academy are split into three groups with their own color, judging by their endowed power or prodigy; blue for the musical, purple for the drama group, and green for the art group. All the children must wear a cape with the color of their group. Charlie Bone is set into the music group, although his power doesn't have to do with music but he has no other talent, so screw it, he's put in the music group. This academy does not seem similar to Hogwarts at all to me, as all the classes are basically normal such as English, math, music etc. The academy is run by the evil Bloor's family, and it's obvious they are keeping something secret from everyone. And of course, it is Charlie's job (as well as his friends and a family member) to reveal what the Bloor family is hiding.
That's the basic storyline, without getting into spoilers, so now let's talk about if this book is good or not. It is obvious this book is for a young age, It even seems less dark and more basic then Harry Potter, So I would say it is a great book to start younger kids on. However, I believe this book can be enjoyed by any age, as I am 18 years old and I still thoroughly enjoyed my time reading Charlie Bone. Although I do feel that I would have liked it A LOT more if I was younger. When I started reading this book I knew what to expect, and I was in a 'mood' to read a easy and quick adventure fantasy novel. This book gave me exactly what I wanted, a cute, fast read, that took me on an adventure.
I don't have all praise for this book, there is still a lot of things that could have been improved on. Let's start with the characters. The personalities for the characters were pretty basic and I found that I didn't really enjoy them that much and at times they seemed to lack emotion. Besides Charlie's uncle Paton. Uncle Paton is the best. I was already sort of expecting basic character design though, because this is a book that's leaned towards a young audience, but I still think it could have been better. The writing style was pretty good, although at times it switched character in the next paragraph and I feel it would have been better to make a pause in between switching characters by adding a line/sub-chapter type of thing. I'm not sure what it was about this book (maybe because it was a very easy read) but I found that I could picture every scene perfectly in my mind while I read, so I mean, that's good. The overall plot was good, but at times it seemed to be lacking, and I wish there was more fast paced adventure in between.
With its flaws I still thoroughly enjoyed Midnight For Charlie Bone, and I will be continuing the series. I totally recommend Charlie Bone to any parent who would like to introduce their child to a new book, or just to anyone of any age who wants to read a quick, light-hearted (yet still somewhat dark) story. This book is not at all as good as Harry Potter, but it's still a great adventure