This is my third time reading Midnight for Charlie Bone. The first time I read it was in 2005 when my sister told me if I needed something fun to read since I was finished with Harry Potter, I should try Charlie Bone. I have loved this little fellow ever since! No, this book is NOT Harry Potter, but what is? However, it’s a fun book full of unique characters. Uncle Paton has to be my favorite!

Enjoyed, but not a book meant for adults or older teens. Obvious "Potter" knock-off, but good.

every time charlie is told to keep a secret, he tells it to the next friend he sees

Oh my god y'all!! I found a box full of books I used to love as a kid and this one is probably the one that means the most to me because it's the series that made me fall in love with reading ^^

So, some might argue with the shelves I chose for this book, particularly the POC-main-character shelf. Here's the thing: Charlie is, in the context of this story, a descendent of the Red King. The Red King came from Africa. Yes, the Red King could have come from a section of Africa that was colonized by a European nation. But he could also have come from a number of other areas in Africa. Nimmo also chooses to focus on Charlie's hair a number of times- she often mentions that it has a course texture. The cover is a bit ambiguous, since the illustration is clearly set at night. (However, if the cover depicted a White boy, it wouldn't be the first time a Black character was white-washed on the cover of a novel). So that's the reasoning behind my decisions to put this on the POC-main-character shelf. Maybe the sequel can shed some light on his ethnicity for me.

Now, for the plot: Maybe it is the ELA teacher in me, but as I read I couldn't help myself from mapping out the plot as I read. The exposition was obviously easy to pick out. As I read, I found myself prediction what part would be the climax of the story, and what the resolution would be. I was pleasantly surprised.  I really thought that the story would flat out end with Emma being woken and sent to her aunt, but I was wrong! Nimmo did a great job of setting us up for the sequel by leaving us with a Charlie who is determined to wake his father, who was assumed to be dead

I love that Charlie has Benjamin as a friend, and I love how loyal Charlie is toward Benjamin and his dog, Runner Bean. Also: a dog named Runner Bean- what a fantastic little detail to include in a story! I think that having poor, lonely Benjamin in the story really opens up the audience- many readers can relate to either having a friend such as Benjamin, whose parents are frequently away working, or they can relate directly to Benjamin.

As I read, I made many connections to the Harry Potter series, as well as Dianna Wynne Jones' The Chronicles of Chrestomanci. We have a young boy who discovers a strange power. He is whisked away to a strange school, where he is expected to hone his skills. However, the rules of this school are foreign and make life very difficult, as do the plethora of strange and interesting students. However, in all cases, our main character makes it through their first year.

...I am still waiting for a YA magical series that passes the Bechdel test though....

Midnight for Charlie Bone is somewhat interesting, but it pales in comparison to the Harry Potter series. Some people argue against this comparison, but there are too many parallels. It's analogous to a hastily plagiarized high school term paper. Nimmo swaps out major pieces for others, for example, sports (Quidditch) versus the arts (art, drama, music). She peppers the book with new details to attempt differences. The overall feel remains suspiciously Potteresque. A looming Charlie Bone disappointment is the school's negative environment. Harry Potter's Hogwarts beckons the students back. Even with its dark challenges, love and light looms.

The series, however, must be an engaging read for the younger folk, elementary and middle school age. I bought my daughter a beautiful set of Charlie Bone hardcover books years ago. If only we had read them then, perhaps we could be fans of both series. As it is, we are firmly dedicated to Harry Potter.

And we have our Charlie Bone hardcover set up for sale...

As an aside, I have always been discontented with the lack of focus on the arts in the Harry Potter series. The token choir scene in the films hardly makes up for it.

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

Another childhood reread. I got into this around the time I read Harry Potter but HP overshadowed it by alot. I'm pretty sure I've been going back to my childhood reads due to the new realizations around Rowling and my disappointment can't be put to words. So I'm probably searching for other childhood nuggets to fall onto while I go through my pain around HP.

This honestly, is not as exciting as I remember it but it could be the second book that picks up. Most of this is seems to be background and setup. I thought I remembered a more exciting setup of the school system but it's pretty simple. The prose is much simpler than other comparable books but I feel the story is more original than the others which I love. Will definitely keep reading.

I love this book! I did not like the aunts like Aunt Lucretia and so on. But otherwise I loved this book!

I really enjoyed this book. It has a lot of potential to become a famous novel series but no one ever notices the novel.

If you are looking for an innocent, clean, middle-grades adventure with endearing characters this is your book!

If you’re looking for a gripping, edge-of-your-seat, unpredictable mystery where you’re not sure what fate will befall our heroes….this is not your book :)

I originally read this way back in 5th grade after purchasing it at the scholastic book fair! I genuinely think this book sparked my initial interest in reading. While it isn’t perfect, it’s a fun story with some interesting characters.