As I mentioned before, Midnight for Charlie Bone is the first book in a series. Although the immediate problem in the story was solved and the author gave the impression that everything was fine for the characters, it was quite obvious that it wasn’t and the very last line of the story confirmed this. However, I didn’t feel cheated and I don’t feel as if I have to read the next book (although I will, because I’ve already got it).

Before the beginning of the series, Manfred Bloor hypnotises Lyell Bone to punish him for trying to stop the abduction of Emma Tolly. He also does it partially in an attempt to discern the whereabouts of Maybelle's will (which Lyell had hidden). However, while spellbound Lyell has Laser-Guided Amnesia and as such forgets where he put the pearl-inlaid box containing the will. Beauty Equals Goodness: Miss Chrystal/Titania Tilpin gets increasingly ugly after she turns out to be an evil witch. Heroic Sacrifice: At the end of Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors, Billy Raven's guardian Christopher Crowquill sacrifices his life to save Paton's when Yorath Yewbeam tries to kill him, because he's dying anyway and Paton is the only one who can protect Billy. This makes him one of the very few non-evil characters to be Killed Off for Real.

Tancred Torsson is a storm-bringer. His Scandinavian ancestor was named after the thunder god, Thor. Tancred can summon wind, thunder, snow, rain, and lightning. He is also a very dear friend of Lysander Sage. Tancred was also almost drowned by Dagbert Endless in the seventh book. It's supposed to be a school for geniuses. Okay, sure. There wasn't much to indicate that anyone there was actually very smart, but alright. But then, it's also a school for the "endowed" kids. Why? What purpose does it serve to have any of those kids there? There's no training for any of them, and there's no management of their powers at all. Well, other than their endowed only homework session. Not any special homework, of course. They just all have to sit at the same table, work on whatever they have, and not talk. It was entirely pointless. She was kidnapped as incentive for her father to get the thing in the case working - for some unknown reason. Once he failed, they had no reason to want to keep the baby. After he died, they really had no reason to keep her. Not even as some sort of punishment. Cuz he's dead and no longer cares. It was far more inconvenient for them to keep her because they were paying her fake family lots and lots of money. Archnemesis Dad: A curse on Dagbert Endless' family ensures that when he turns thirteen, he will have to battle his father, Lord Grimwald, to the death. He wins.

The day has come, folks. I think I'm too old to legitimately enjoy middle grade books that aren't rereads. Classic magic and mystery from one of Britain’s best-loved authors of fantasy adventure. Perfect for fans of Harry Potter, Eva Ibbotson, Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart and Shane Hegarty’s Darkmouth. Once again I return to you with another comparison to Harry Potter. I recently read the book Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo.Before I read this book most people told me it was just like Harry Potter , but I hate to disappoint once again this is nothing like Harry Potter. There might be some similar things, but lets clear the table this is a different story and just as good. Midnight For Charlie Bone is a very compelling story that keeps you longing for more. The book starts out with a Prologue that gives you a brief history of The Red King, it then starts with Charlie's dilemna over getting the wrong photograph and hearing what people are saying in pictures. This picture leads to a chain of events which include three cats called Sagitarius, Leo, and Aries, who belonged to The Red King about 950 years ago. Charlie was just a normal boy but from an endowed family basically families that have powers.Charlie Bone is one of the descendants of the Red King. Charlie has inherited one of the kings powers where he can hear voices in photos. He is sent to a school that endowed children with powers have to go to or students that are just geniuses in the area of art or music. Bloors is not an ordinary school. Many strange things happen there and Charlie Bone is trying to figure out what they are. Not only are there strange things going on these things are very evil. All around Charlie there is evil but in his hero journey he has found very reliable friends to help him. Adults Are Useless: Mostly averted. Most of the adults are fairly competent; when they're unable to help the kids it's for reasons that actually make sense, and when they do help out it makes a big difference. Plus, for every nice adult there's two who are Jerkasses or completely psychotic. And speaking of missing kids, the entire premise of Mr. Tolly giving Emma away was ridiculous. I get that it's a kids book and all, but even kids aren't naive enough to believe people can just hand off their babies on a whim and no one would care.

The Children of the Red King Series in Order (8 Books)

Emma Tolly also chooses to return to Bloor's Academy after her hypnotic trance is broken, for exactly the same reason as Charlie. Chekhov's Gunman: Mr. Pilgrim, who in the fifth book is revealed to be Lyell Bone, Charlie's ten-years-estranged father. He's also the Red Knight. I Choose to Stay: Even after being lost in the ruin at the end of the first book, Charlie chooses to stay at Bloor's to help the good endowed children of the Red King fight against the bad guys. Combo Platter Powers: Guanhamara, the Red King's third daughter, has at least four endowments: psychic power, illusions, spirit-summoning, and witchcraft. Possibly justified in that she is so closely related to the Red King, but then again her siblings only seem to have one endowment a piece. Bindi Loom has no confirmed endowment, though it is believed by some she shares her sister's ability. She supports Charlie and his friends until leaving Bloor Academy after the second book.

Psychometry: Gabriel Silk can experience the thoughts and feelings of people whose clothes he puts on. It May Help You on Your Quest: In the second book, Miss Ingledew gives Charlie a Welsh word dictionary which Paton had in his possession when he was run over. It ends up being the key to using Skarpo's wand.Chekhov's Gun: The wand Charlie steals from Skarpo in the second book becomes extremely important later on. It not only helps free Henry from his prison, but saves Miss Ingledew from death, helps Charlie with any problem he has, and also is the key to fixing the damaged Mirror of Amoret. Paton Yewbeam is Charlie's great-uncle and is one of the few good Yewbeam characters. It is implied that Paton had kept his head down before Charlie was born, but since Charlie's efforts to fight against the Bloors, Paton has aided Charlie in his efforts. His endowment is electrical boosting, which causes him to blow up lightbulbs. Because of his endowment, Paton does not go out in daylight, for fear of exploding lights of intersections or in shops. Instead, Paton prefers to take walks alone at night. Uncle Paton lives in the house with Charlie's mother, Maisie (Charlie's maternal grandmother), Grandma Bone, and himself. He is Grandma Bone's brother and is 20 years younger than she is. Paton has a developing relationship with Julia Ingledew, whom he marries in the last book. Paton is also a historian. He is constantly working on a book about the children of the Red King. Emma's dad, Mostyn Tolly, traded her to the Bloors for a replica of the Toledo knight when she was a baby. He eventually tries to put this right, but is murdered before he can. Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: It would've been much easier for the Bloors if they'd just killed Lyell in that car accident in 1994. The only reason they didn't was because Grizelda insisted on sparing him, and they also wanted to find out from him the location of the pearl-inlaid box that contains Maybelle's will. However, this is subverted in the fifth book, when Harken (with the Bloors' and Yewbeams' full knowledge) makes Amy forget Lyell to stop him waking up from his trance, as it's heavily implied, if not stated outright, that Lyell will die if Amy forgets him completely. Then in the last three books the Bloors resort to trying to drown him before he remembers where he put the pearl-inlaid box.