Charlie Bone and the Time Twister (The Children of the Red King, Book 2) [Hardcover]

Jenny Nimmo (Author)

Book Description

Series: Red King Quintet | Publication Date: April 1, 2003

Ordinary Charlie Bone receives a gift that runs in his family on his tenth birthday when he can hear the people in a photograph speaking to each other. So as all gifted children do he attends Bloor's Academy. This second book in the series maps Charlie's progress when he encounters time-slipped Henry Yewbeam.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-In this sequel to Midnight for Charlie Bone (Scholastic, 2003), Nimmo continues the saga of the endowed descendants of the Red King, who attend a very Hogwarts-like boarding school called Bloor's Academy. "The Time Twister," a marblelike ball with the power to transport people through time, brings Henry Yewbeam from 1916 to present day Bloor's. His evil, scheming cousin Ezekiel, who was responsible for sending him to the future, is still alive, and Charlie Bone must protect Henry and find a way to send him back into the past. This is a breezy read, even at its 400-page length. Sadly, there are plot elements that seem to come totally out of the blue or that just don't make sense. The power with which each individual child is endowed, such as the ability to create storms or to transform into a bird, seems arbitrarily created to provide dramatic rescues. A painting of a wizard named Skarpo is left for Charlie by one of his aunts. As readers of the first book know, Charlie can hear voices in pictures, and they now discover that he can actually enter them as well. Oddly, Henry seems unfazed by his trip through time and by the modern world. The unexpected plot twist at the end is strangely unclimactic, and seems to pass by so quickly that any sense of triumph at the outcome is lost. Charlie Bone is a likable character to whom kids will turn to for a fix after they've finished the latest Harry Potter for the fifth time. For libraries where fantasy is popular.
Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-7. In the second volume of a planned five, young Charlie discovers new dimensions to his magical talents while helping an age-mate who drops from thin air at wizardly Bloor Academy (and turns out to be a long-lost great-granduncle) escape the clutches of the Red King's less savory descendants. Like the first installment, this stays solidly in the Harry Potter slipstream--there's even a hidden chamber and a miraculous bird flying to the rescue. But it has some ingenious features of its own, including a cafe that admits only customers with pets, and such oddball magics as one character's involuntary ability to make every nearby light bulb explode. Nimmo's world is also darker than Rowling's (so far, at least), with the line between good guys and bad not as well defined. Still, Potterphiles, and many Snicketteers too, will find the territory comfortably familiar. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 388 pages
• Publisher: Egmont Books (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405201258
• ISBN-13: 978-1405201254
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,082,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When's the next one coming out?, September 28, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Charlie Bone and the Time Twister (The Children of the Red King, Book 2) (Hardcover)

Hello everyone, i am a book fanatic. I read the first book in the red king series, Midnight for Charlie Bone, in June 2003. And even though 3 months isn't as long a time as i will be waiting for the next abarat book and the next unicorn chronicles, it was hard to wait. As soon i heard it was out i went to the store and bought it. It took me a few more days to read this one than the first, but i blame that on lack of time. It is great, thanks Jenny.i finished this on sept. 2nd, but i have been so busy with school i just wrote the review now.
There is a lot more dealing with Gabriel, Tancred, and Lysander (who you have to love). As well as Benjamin, Paton,Charlie, Olivia, Emma, and Fidelio. They are great characters.
THis book is number 1. you have to read it. I can't wait for Charlie bone adn the invisible boy to come out.
Thanks, Jenny! Can't wait for charlie's new adventure!
It's GREEEEAAAAT!!!!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Time Twister, May 5, 2006

By 

Brian & Randy "Two Brothers" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Charlie Bone and the Time Twister (The Children of the Red King, Book 2) (Hardcover)

If you are into adventures and time travel you will like this book a lot because of time travel and adventure. In January 1916, it's the coldest day of the year when Henry Yewbeam puts on his blue school cape and takes his bag of marbles down to the freezing hall. Halfway through the game, Henry sees a marble rolling toward him. He picks it up. It is full of beautiful colors. Suddenly the walls start fading, the light is going. He feels himself disappearing. Henry writes on the floor, "GIVE THE MARBLES TO JAMES". Then Henry vanishes from the year 1916.

In January 2002, it's freezing cold, the coldest day of the year. Charlie Bone is crossing the hall on his way to a lesson at Bloor's Academy. Something begins to happen a few feet in front of him. A boy in a blue cape materializes out of thin air. He rubs his eyes and says, "Oh my word! What happened?". Now Charlie Bone and his friends are looking for a place to keep Henry until they can find the Time Twister and get Henry back to the year 1916. Will Henry ever be reunited with his brother James? Will he get back to 1916? Read the book and find out! I also recommend The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches by Robert Stanek. He loves to end chapters with cliffhangers too!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If only it were written better, April 25, 2005

By 

H. Bennetts (IN YOUR POCKET) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Charlie Bone and the Time Twister (The Children of the Red King, Book 2) (Hardcover)

The other reviews are pretty spot on when it comes to story and characterization. I love the Charlie Bone books. They have a very interesting, colorful plot, filled with interesting characters. I understand that they are written for the younger crowd, but Nimmo really needs to work on her storytelling a bit more. All she does in her writing is tell you what happen. She doesn't even try to make your imagination work.

A good example of her writing style would be like so: "Charlie saw the tree falling and he moved out of the way. It hit the ground." And even that is too descriptive for her. A major event will happen, and she'll brush over it in a sentence or two. "So and So was saved! Hurrah!"

The books have such a wonderful plot that the shameful storytelling hurts them. I honestly think Nimmo needs to take a few creative writing courses at her local university before she attempts another novel. She needs to learn how to envoke emotion and imagination from her writing, instead of just telling us what happened in a flat, static way.