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

~ (Author) "It was January 1916 - the coldest winter in living memory..." (more)
Key Phrases: endowed children, Grandma Bone, Uncle Paton, Runner Bean (more...)

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.

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

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Orchard; 1st Edition,1st Printing USA edition (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 043949687X
• ISBN-13: 978-0439496872
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,872 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #2 in	Books > Children's Books > Series > Fantasy & Adventure > Charlie Bone

• This is item 2 in The Charlie Bone Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 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

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!!!!!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Considerable suspension of disbelief, but that's OK, June 21, 2004

By	T. Burger (Chicago) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Young Charlie Bone's "endowment" is an interesting and, at first, seemingly ineffectual one (compared to, that is, endowments that have immediately obvious benefits like divining from people's clothing what they feel, and if they're dead or alive; mind control; the ability to change into a bird of any shape or size; conjuring up one's spirit's ancestors, or the ability to summon violent storms of wind, rain, thunder, and lightening). Charlie can look into portraits and hear people talk. In the first book in this installment, we get a few examples of that, and what he hears is mainly of the garden variety: "Sit straight," "you're too fat in your bikini," etc. But we are also told in that same book that after Charlie's father died that Charlie's Grandma Bone (his father's mother) took down every picture of him in the house. If that isn't a smidgeon of foreshadowing, then I'm unfamiliar with the word.

Here we have the second installment in the series. Back in 1916, the horribly cruel Zeke Bloor sent his cousin Henry Yewbeam into the future - Charlie Bone's future, of course - using a magical device called The Time Twister. Now, it's somewhat unbelievable that Zeke, a person whom we know craves power, would let something so valuable out of his reach merely to send off a cousin for whom he cares little and whom poses no immediate or distant threat to him, but this is where suspension of disbelief comes in. Without this occurrence, there is no story. So we must accept it, and while it's somewhat glaring, the suspension of disbelief can be honored, mainly because Ms. Nimmo is writing for a younger age group than the Potter crowd.

Fast forward to present day, and we find all of the malevolent forces at Bloor's academy aware of Henry's arrival, and Zeke - now Ezekiel Bloor, a crustaceous, horrid beast of a man - is still intent on doing away with his cousin. This is the second major time where we are asked to suspend disbelief. Why in the world would a 100 year old man care what a 10 or 11 year old boy does? Again, especially when that boy is, himself, not one of the endowed, and poses no threat to Ezekiel. The answer is spite. And evil people tend to possess a few common qualities: avarice, paranoia, and spite. Still, I had a much more difficult time understanding the motive behind the Bloor's and their cronies making poor little Henry Yewbeam's life so miserable. Why were the Yewbeam aunt's and Grandma Bone so concerned with where he was?

Regardless of this, Ms. Nimmo is a gifted storyteller and pacer, and, as before, she has created a story that is populated with believable and likable characters (mostly on the good side - the bad side is slightly less believable, if only because we don't spend much time with them so little character development is possible), all of whom any reader would have great affection for. So the story, even accepting this suspension of disbelief, is a thoroughly enjoyable one.

Because Henry is a relative, and because Charlie is the quintessential good guy who will do whatever he can to help his friends (a marvelous quality, really), they try to rescue poor Henry from the clutches of the Bloor's. Their attempts make for a terrific and blazing read. We also see a little more of Charlie's gifts. Anyone who read the first book must have asked themselves: "If he can hear portraits, what about paintings?"

A final thought to ponder: when will the Tree and the flames - if ever - reveal their true identities, and give the Bloor's and the nastier Yewbeam's their comeuppance? Or will that task reside entirely on Charlie Bone's shoulders?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Through The Years, October 16, 2006

By	Mel Odom (Moore, OK USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The problems at Bloor Academy intensify for young Charlie Bone in this second adventure. Poor Henry Yewbeam, actually Charlie's great-granduncle, goes missing from the year 1916 and turns up in the present. Charlie discovers his distant relative and the powerful Time Twister that allowed him to make his incredible journey. Unfortunately, it doesn't take long before Manfred Bloor, his father, and grandfather pick up the trail. Things get very complicated as Charlie keeps losing Henry while trying to figure out the riddle of the Time Twister.

Jenny Nimmo has written five books so far in the Charlie Bone series. She's also written other books for children, including THE SNOW SPIDER, the first book in her Magician Trilogy, for younger readers.

The Charlie Bone books are easy and entertaining reads. Even though they usually clock in at 400+ pages, the language, the storyline, and the characters lend themselves naturally to the reader. Charlie's world is large, filled with mystery (what DID happen to his father?), villains (most of them from his own family!), and magic (what else does that wand do that Charlie got from evil Skarpo?). I had a good time reading this one to my 8-year-old. We laughed together, and fretted to, and we got to enjoy solving some of the mysteries.

The scene changes still remain somewhat abrupt in the books. Maybe it's just me, though, because my son never once complained.

Overall, CHARLIE BONE AND THE TIME TWISTER is another good read from Ms. Nimmo. Readers wanting something like Harry Potter will be pleased with this series.