Midnight for Charlie Bone (The Children of the Red King, Book 1)

#16
Title: Midnight for Charlie Bone (The Children of the Red King, Book 1)

Author: Jenny Nimmo
Publisher: Scholastic
Year: 2002
Genre: Children’s/Fantasy

401 pages

+ Nice tone, engaging characters, complex plot

- Climactic moments a little rushed, some thin characterization

An enjoyable beginning to a young adult series. I imagine that Scholastic named these books to evoke the HarryPotter series, though “The Children of the Red King” is a reasonable series title that is more striking than “theCharlie Bone books,” and the "Charlie Bone and the..." titles are derivative. It may be that the legacy of Rowling’s dense Harry Potter series that almost all other young adult novels seem somewhat rushed and sketchy by comparison.

Like Harry, Charlie is a young man just coming of age; also like Harry, he has hitherto unknown talents. His family is more like another Charlie’s family, Charlie Bucket of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Charlie’s relationships are credible and the environments, such as the menacing Bloor’s Academy, are vivid. Some characterization is a little thin and inconsistent (Billy is an example of this). On the other hand, characters such as Charlie’s Uncle Patton are nicely developed and ring true. The action is generally well-paced and the plot pleasingly convoluted. Nimmo’s revelations are well-placed and keep the action moving forward.

On the down side, it's not clear to me why the endowed, who are not artistically gifted, are placed in arts houses within Bloor's Academy, rather than within their own House. In a similar vein, there is no evidence that the Academy develops their endowments; if it exists only to monitor the children, there is no rationale given for why the parents would place their children in such a negative environment. I also see no evidence for why the parents of artistically gifted children would subject those children to this school. More problematic is that no good reason is given for the treatment of Emma Tully, or for the form her salvation takes. The casket guarded by Charlie seems to disappear from the narrative after its plot utility is concluded, and people in great danger appear no longer to be in danger once plot points are resolved, though the characters and circumstances that endanger them are still present.

Borders tells me that Scholastic issued this series in paperback only for its school-based book club; it is available new in hardback.

Next in the series: Charlie Bone and the Time Twister.