Customer Reviews

Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy (The Children of the Red King, Book 3)

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book was a really interesting book. When I went to my school fair, and saw this book on the shelf, I just knew I had to buy it. After I read the first two (which I finished in a day) I knew this one would be equally as good. I was right. I couldn't put it down and finished the book in a day. I read til 11 o'clock at night, it was that good.

This book is about a boy, Charlie Bone, and his friends and how they find an invisible boy in the attic, Ollie Sparks. A shape-shifter, Yolanda Yewbeam, takes the form of a 12-year-old-girl named Belle. She tries to stop Charlie Bone and his friends from rescuing Ollie Sparks.

If you have not read the first two books- Midnight for Chanrlie Bone, and Charlie BOne and the Time-Twister- you should read those books before reading this one. OTherwise, you will be a bit clueless about some of the concepts and people in this book. For fans of Harry Potter, you should DEFINITELY read this book and these series.

When I first read Midnight for Charlie Bone I was on a trip and bought it as a second hand book on tape. I bought it because I expected it to be like HP.
Next I read the Time Twister, and then the Invisible boy. One of the things I like most about them is that each book is one school term so there is more story per school year. Another cool thing about them is that the kids have individual powers unlike HP where thay all can do everything.
One very interesting thing I like about this book series is that the people know about the endowed kids. Over all, these are very good books. So are HP and the Bartimaeus Trilogy. To me all three are the greatest series ever made. Student age 15

I wish I had some way to get this message to Jenny Nimmo! If I could I'd love to express my thanks for writing such a wonderful series. My son whom is 10 has NEVER liked reading. He always acted as if I was dealing out punishment everytime I asked him to read even for 15min.! I didn't have that problem with any of the books in this series. The first book Midnight for Charlie Bone he read it in a Month which is a miracle in itself. The first thing he wanted to do after reading that one was go and purchase the second book Charlie Bone and the Time Twister. He read this on in only 2 weeks!! And BEGGED for the third book. This one, Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy, he read in only 3 days!!! I cannot express my gratitude to Mrs. Nimmo for opening up the world of books to my son!! You were able to reach him and allow him to succeed where countless other books have failed!! He was so excited after finishing these he said, "Hey Mom, why don't you read them? They are really great stories!" So, of course, I have also read all three! I can't agree more. Jenny Nimmo is a wonderful storyteller you don't want to put the book down!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I am one greatful Mom!!!
Sue
McDonough, GA

Charlie Bone: Great "Page Turner!"
Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy, by Jenny Nimmo, is a great book because it has an interesting plot that keeps you in suspense and an amazing writing style that creates detailed pictures in your mind. I really couldn't put it down (except then I had to because my mom said I couldn't stay up all night). The main characters in this fantasy book are Charlie Bone, of course, and his friend Billy. They live in a small town, in present time, where Charlie's most famous ancestor, the Red King, used to live a thousand years ago. Ten year-old Charlie has special powers which come in handy while he attends Bloor's Academy, a school where about ten students, including Billy, have similar endowments and, like Charlie, they use them to help people. (I don't want to give away what these special powers are, because that would spoil the ending!) One day Charlie goes up into the attic, hears a voice, and finds an invisible boy, named Ollie Sparks, who got that way after being squeezed by a blue boa. Charlie promises he will make Ollie visible again. Meanwhile, there is a new kid in school, named Belle, who seems to have strange energies, including my favorite: the ability to change the color of her eyes any time she wants.
I think the author's writing style of using very descriptive words makes you feel like this imaginary story really exists. For example: "A silvery mist surrounded Charlie and when he blinked, he found himself caught in the gaze of six golden eyes." When I read this sentence I felt uneasy as I visualized those eyes - did they belong to animals or a fantastic creature? I wondered why they appeared so suddenly and I sure didn't want to be in Charlie's shoes at that moment! What would happen next? Another example is: "He threw flames at the tires and the way ahead was lit by a thousand sparks." These words came alive and made me shutter as I imagined a runaway fire created by a villain's magical fingers. I felt like I was inside the chapter and wanted to get out safely, but I didn't want to miss all the excitement.
I loved this book's incredible plot! It was remarkable that the author was able to think of such exciting twists and turns to the story. There were so many "cliff hangers" it's no wonder I stayed up too late to finish this book! An example of a suspenseful part of the story is when Emma's Aunt Julia was running out of air: "The feeling traveled down her spine and Julia staggered from the pain. She attempted to loosen the belt, but the clasp wouldn't open. Julia's heart began to beat wildly. `Emma,' she moaned. `Emma, help me!'" As I read this quote, I couldn't wait to find out how the problem would turn out and if a young student, like Emma, would be able to save her aunt. Another instance was when Charlie and his friends discovered that a sorcerer was doing weird experiments at the academy: "`Must be,' said Charlie, `And I've got a horrible feeling he's only just begun. It could get worse.'" I worried that Charlie might be right and now the students in the academy would be in trouble.
In conclusion, as one can see, I really felt drawn into Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy. It captured and held my attention throughout because of its vivid and illustrative language. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy series like Harry Potter or A Series of Unfortunate Events, because it takes you far beyond your imagination. What's different about Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy is that, despite being one book of a series, its plot introduces new, exciting characters - compared to the books from A Series of Unfortunate Events, which always have the same characters. Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy is a real "page turner" and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I am a 6th grader at CCMS. The book I read was Charlie Bone and the Invisible boy. It all starts off as Charlie Bone starting off a new semester at Bloor's Academy. Everything starts off normally as Charlie and his friends hanging out and having fun. His friend Ben, who is unendowed has to go to China with his parents. Then Charlie finds out that his Uncle Paton, a power booster, has to leave town and go on a secret mission to stop some one from coming. His Aunt Maisie has to go out of town because her sister is really ill. So, whenever Charlie is home on the weekends he has to be alone with Grandma Bone, who is very mean. But anyways, Charlie finds something very mysterious when he and his friends are exploring the secret passages of Bloor's academy. All the sudden a door slams and they think it was the wind, but then they remember the letter Emma found on the desk of Mr. Boldova. So they call out the name Ollie, who is the invisible boy, and they start talking, Charlie says he promises to get him out of there and visible again. A little later on, Billy Raven one of Charlie's friends, sees something crazy. Mr. Boldova, the new Art teacher and Belle, a strange new student have a weird interaction. All of a sudden Belle transforms into an old person called Yolanda who is a shape shifter. Mr. Boldova throws fiery stones at her but she some how makes him forget who he is. If you want to find out more about the book then read it. The reasons I liked this book is because it is very mysterious. I also like this book because Charlie and his friends always work together so good to help people other become visible or go back to there time period. My favorite character is Tancred Torrsen because he is a storm bringer and he can create lightning, thunder, rain, and high winds. He plays a key roll in this book but you'll have to find out what by reading the book. The auther of this book is Jenny Nimo.

Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy Book Review

Jenny Nemo has finally done it. This latest book in the Charlie Bone series is wonderfully imaginative. Charlie's evil relatives, who make Harry Potter's aunt and uncle look like saints, are up to no good again. The school that he goes to is full of nasty characters ready to make his life and his friends a living hell and to make matters worse there is a strange visitor to his school that his wicked aunts approve of. This semester is not easy for Charlie but he and his friends strive to save the innocent victims that have been sucked into the school's evil web, while trying not to get caught up in it himself. A wonderful read.

Caterina Christakos

In the third installment of the Children of the Red King series, a considerable amount of depth is assed, and Ms. Nimmo stakes out her own territory fiercely. This book was the best yet. Any doubt that additional depth was on its way should have been put to rest upon viewing the genealogical table (which, disappointingly, gave away a few endowments that I wasn?t aware of, but it didn?t affect the story).

The book is, in its basest form, about a boy who was made invisible by ? who else ? that wretched disaster of a magician, Ezekiel Bloor, and the efforts of Charlie and his faithful band of do-gooders to rescue him. But there is much more than an invisible boy for Charlie to worry about.

His best friend Benjamin has gone with his parents to Hong Kong, so Charlie has to find a way to keep Runner Bean occupied without Grandma Bone finding out about him. He is introduced to a new girl, Belle, who will be attending the academy, but not through the usual way ? that is, not at the academy on the first day of classes. He is introduced to this girl, who is the most beautiful girl in the world and whose eyes constantly change color, at his own home by his horrific aunts and Grandma Bone. The manner of their introduction isn?t lost on Charlie, and he is wary of her from the beginning.

His Uncle Patton leaves, mysteriously, speaking of ?someone dangerous? that must be stopped from arriving, and Charlie finds himself without the comforting presence of his uncle, who has begun to serve as a very effective buffer between Charlie and the Yewbeams. When his Uncle finally returns, the manner of his return is such that Charlie feels compelled to revisit the painting of Skarpo the Sorcerer in the hopes that Skarpo can help his Uncle, but Charlie succeeds in doing two things: 1) adding mystery to the white wand he ?stole? in book 2; and 2) unleashing a very unpleasant series of circumstances not only on Bloor?s Academy but also on the people who live in the surrounding town.

As we are finding out, there is more to everything than meets the eye ? even if some of it is rather obvious. And the universe is expanding, most satisfactorily. We can see possibilities for more books, and indeed it has been stated in at least one place that this is a projected series of five books.

I have only a few issues with the series in general, and the main one is: why does every book have to be centered around someone that the Bloors and/or Yewbeams are hiding or don?t want to be found? And why does it make such little sense (to me at least ? it?s entirely possible that my tiny brain is missing something rather obvious) that the Bloors and/or Yewbeams don?t want these kids found? Especially since this last book was action packed from beginning to end, and between Skarpo, Belle, Uncle Patton, and other minor subplots there was plenty around which to write a book. I hope that the next two books will use a more clever contrivance around which to center the story.

Last, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR THOSE WHO THINK THESE BOOKS ARE POTTER RETREADS, I had an issue with what happened to Charlie at the end regarding a certain wand and a genealogical table (not the one in the beginning of the book).. I won?t describe anything more, because I don?t want to give the ending anyway. Anyway, this event seemed to be the most glaring Potter similarity yet, and I admit to actually gasping out loud when I read it. I assumed that Ms. Nimmo, as she is no stranger to children?s entertainment, *must* have read Potter, and therefore I was dumbfounded, wondering why in the world she would do something like this. However, I wrote to Ms. Nimmo, and she confirmed that she has never read the Potter works, except when her publisher tells her to take a peek at certain parts. Given that she?s never read the books, then, all of the Potter similarities are entirely accidental. This was an answer that pleased me greatly, for I have absolutely loved these books.

During his stay at Bloor's Academy for Gifted Children, Charlie becomes aware of an invisible boy (actually, almost invisible since his big toe on his foot isn't invisible). He wants to help him and will stop at nothing until his plan to make him visible once again succeeds. Some people do have a tendency to stand in his way, such as 101-year-old Ezekiel Bloor and Manfred Bloor both with sinister powers...

This book is about Charlie Bone and his friends who go on an adventure to help a teacher's little brother, Ollie Sparks. Charlie Bone isn't a normal boy though. He's endowed. He can hear pictures and portraits and converse with people depicted in them. He has many friends such as the musical Fidelio Gunn, the Storm Bringer Tancred, a Spirit Summoner Lysander, and an actress name Olivia. Charlie Bone also has many enemies such as Zelda (A Telekinetic), Manfred Bloor (A hypnotizer), Asa Pike (A Lycanthrope), Ezekiel Bloor (A sorcerer), and Charlie's three aunts (One unendowed, One a Clairvoyant, and One a magical fashion designer). With all of his friend's help, Charlie Bone tries to make the almost completely invisible boy visible again, while having an adventure on the way. I rate this book an 8 out of 10.

Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy written by Jenny Nimmo is a great book. It is a really cool fantasy book. It is an outstanding mystery-like story about a boy named Charlie and his friends Emma, Fidelio, Gabriel, Billy, and others all trying to make it through another tough semester at Bloor's Academy. You see Charlie is endowed with special powers. His endowment is that when he looks into a photograph he somehow becomes part of the picture. One day while investigating the Bloor's campus Charlie discovered an invisible boy, Ollie Sparks, living in the attic. Ollie had been squeezed by the 'blue boa' and now he is completely invisible, except for his big toe!!! Now Charlie will do anyhting to make him visible and reunite him with his brother who is the art teacher at Bloor's, Mr. Boldvoka. When Charlie's only hope of help, his Uncle Paton, goes missing Charlie must face all of the adventures on his own. What happens then his 'star witness' Mr. Bolvoka disappears as well? Read the book to find out.

Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy is a great book. So I will tell you about the main character, Charlie Bone. In this book Charlie Bone has many good character traits. Those character traits are that Charlie is brave, he is reliable and Charlie is kind. These character traits make Charlie a very interesting character, so you should read ahead to find out why he like this.
Charlie Bone is a very brave person. This is because Charlie tries to make Ollie visible. For example, in the book Charlie's friends try to stop Charlie because they think it is too dangerous. But, Charlie says "doesn't matter I will still try to get Ollie out of the attics and make him visible, even if it is impossible." Charlie also tries to find a very dangerous sorcerer that could kill a lot of people. Charlie's parents and friends try to stop him but Charlie doesn't listen. When Charlie first told his friends about him trying to find the sorcerer they are so shocked because they knew how dangerous the sorcerer was. When Charlie first told his relatives they got so mad because they knew if he did try he might get killed. But Charlie didn't care because he knew he could get that sorcerer, so Charlie soon convinced his relatives to let him but his relatives were still scared. Charlie's Great Uncle, Payton gets sick and Charlie finds out to get the cure he has to go to a dangerous place. That dangerous place is at one of his Great Aunt's house, and his Great Aunt's are very mean towards Charlie. Payton knows how dangerous Charlie's Great Aunts are so he tries to warn Charlie, but like always Charlie doesn't listen and does it anyways.
Charlie is reliable towards everyone. One way he is reliable is that his friends can ask him about their problems. For example, in the book Olivia, who is Charlie's friend, comes to Charlie to ask him something. Charlie listens and gives her some advice and it helps Olivia. Charlie also, helps one of his teachers. That teacher's brother is Ollie the one who is stuck in the attics. So Charlie finds this note on the teacher's desk about how Ollie is in the attics and the next day his teacher comes to Charlie to help him find Ollie. Like always Charlie is ready to help his teacher and he does what ever he can to help. Charlie is reliable also, because he is taking care of his friend's dog. His friends name is Benjamin, and he is in Hong Kong right now. He leaves his dog with Charlie because he knows that Charlie is reliable. Charlie takes the dog on walks every week because his Grandma hates pets so Charlie got it sent to a Cafe.
Finally, Charlie is very kind. This is because he helps his relatives with their problems. For example, one problem is that they don't know who the wand belongs to. But Charlie is kind enough to find something that tells who owns it. When he does find it he shows his Great Uncle and he looks and finds out that right now Charlie is the rightful owner of the wand. Charlie also acts kind towards his friend's parents. For example, once Emily's mom asks for something and Charlie acts kind towards her and helps her. Charlie also acts kind towards his teachers in school. For example, his music teacher is missing and he had to do something and Charlie had to do something very important that day and he couldn't do it. Charlie acts nicely when his music teacher comes back.
Charlie is brave, reliable and very kind. He shows these qualities many times throughout the book. Charlie is much different from the rest of the characters in the book because of these qualities.