I had to echo Charlie's sentiments - where is his dad?? That is the one part of this story that I just don't get. I'm hopeful that Ms. Nimmo will be able to tie up all the loose ends in her last installment in a way that makes sense of some of the questions. There's definitely more meat to the overarching story, as we finally get a clear picture of "the shadow". ( )

Jenny Nimmo's latest had me craving for more of Charlie and his friends. Charlie Bone and the Shadow is a darker book than any of the other books in the Charlie Bone series with the (presumable) death of a friend, Charlie suspension from Bloors, and the dark land of Badlock. The book kept me reading well into the night and I cannot wait to find out how Nimmo ends her Charlie Bone saga. ( )

Where is the schemes, friendship, and trust that we love so much?

Charlie Bone and the Shadow by Jenny Nimmo
Publication Date: September 2008
4 out of 5 stars

Charlie Bone and his friends must ban together once again to save the day. Count Harken, The Shadow, was forced back into his world because of Charlie Bone in the last book but he is back. This time through a painting. Charlie’s curiosity gets the better of him and he attempts to look at the painting. The painting grabs hold of Charlie and drags him into the world of Badlock. Charlie’s a traveler (can travel into photos and paintings) and with his wand, Claerwen, he is able to escape Count Harken and his troll army. But Charlie wasn’t the only one sucked in. Billy, in his quest to free Runner Bean from the painting, was sucked in. Now Charlie and his friends must work together and save Billy before its to late.

This book was okay. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t wonderful either. Just okay. I gave this book a 4 and not a 3 because the rest of the series is amazing and I really admire the main character Charlie.

Charlie is a great character. Honest, humble, adventurous, kind, friendly, smart, knows right from wrong, curious, strong in his opinions, pretty independent of his parents but trusts his friends undoubting, won’t give up, and tons of other great traits that amazing to find in a 12 year old.

Tancred, Lysander, Emma, Olivia, and all of the other friends of Charlie seemed distant. Charlie was doing a lot of things on his own and I missed the scheme creating that was so dominate in the earlier Charlie Bone books.

Charlie Bone and the Shadow created a lot of new questions without answering must of them. The ending felt lopsided. When you end a book, the ending should somehow relate to the beginning to the book. The beginning of the book went straight to the root problem, but the ending dealt with the branches. The root problem was left unsolved and all the branches were solved. This unfortunately left the beginning of the book and the end disconnected.

This enstallment in the series lacked in the schemes, friendship, and trust that I loved so much about the series. I hope that the next book, which is also the last in the series, will fix what was broken in Charlie Bone and the Shadow.

Date Reviewed: September 27th, 2008 ( )

This time Charlie gets literally sucked into a picture. (In the past his corporal body remained outside.) Runner Bean follows him in and gets trapped there, even after Charlie escapes. Charlie is desperate to get back in to bring Runner Bean out, as well as his giant ancestor who is prisoner there. His Grandma and her cohorts are really aiming to get Charlie's friend Billy into the picture. Pretty complex plot, but actually it all flows together well and is not difficult to follow. ( )

It's not out yet it's suppose to come out on September 24