Charlie Bone is surprised to discover that he has the power to hear voices inside photographs. His Grandma Bone immediately enrolls him at Bloor's academy, much to Charlie's dismay. When Charlie gets a visit from a mysterious man, named Mr. Onimous and three cats, he becomes embroiled in a strange mystery. He is given a case from a woman named Ms. Ingledew, who claims the case holds the secret to finding her long lost neice. Once at Bloor's academy Charlie soon discovers that other students hold special powers as well. He also discovers that he is a descendent of the Red King, a highly powerful magician. With the help of his new friends, Charlie discovers the missing girl is a student at Bloor's. Together, with his old friend Benjamin, and a few new friends at Bloor's, they are able to reunite the girl with her aunt. ( )

Fans of "all things magic" will enjoy the first book in this series by Jenny Nimmo. Charlie comes to grip with his magical powers, and the threat they are to the members of his family who don't want him to uncover the mysteries of his past.

Its really good so far-the voice really brings you in. I don't normally bring audio books inside, I normally just listen to them in the car, but I brought this in after disc one, really wanting to know what happened next.
I can definitely see why some people who are die-hard Harry Potter fans dislike this book--it starts out about a young boy who finds out he has a special gift, his father also had the gift but died when Charlie was young, and worst yet, Charlie is described as having 'dark unruly hair' that never seems to lay straight no matter how hard you comb it. Once you get away from these similarities the books are really quite different. Whereas Harry Potter is whisked away to Hogwarts where everyone is 'different' like him, Charlie Bone is taken to Bloor's Academy where most students are geniuses or very talented at something, and only 3 others are 'endowed' with gifts like Charlie's. The book is, all in all, good and interesting so far.

Nice read, but people who wrote that Charlie was the new Harry Potter were way off, in my opinion.
Charlie Bone is intended for a younger audience. ( )

First in the young adult “Children of the Red King” fantasy series set in England. Charlie Bone is ten years old and lives with his mum and both of his grandmas. Grandma Maisie, his mother’s mum, is kind and friendly. Grandma Bone, his father’s mother, is not. His father died when Charlie was very young, so of financial necessity, they live with Grandma Bone—a perpetually cross, rigid, mean old woman who lords it over Charlie and his mother. Also living in the big old house is Uncle Payton Yewbeam (I thought this was ‘Youbean’ as pronounced by the reader—had to look it up! LOL) who is an odd and slightly sinister fellow. When Charlie discovers he can ‘hear’ photographs—the thoughts of the people in them at the time they were taken—Grandma Bone calls in the three Yewbeam aunts to test Charlie—and since he turns out to be one of the ‘endowed,’ he is sent to Bloor’s Academy, a school where you must be either a genius or endowed with some odd power like Charlie’s. His power means he’s a descendant of the Red King. Charlie is sad to be leaving his best friend Benjamin Brown (and his dog, Runner Bean—that name gave me fits of giggles every time I heard it!) behind, but he does make some new and interesting friends (and enemies!) at the Academy, and his weird uncle turns out to be Charlie’s ally.

While a bit predictable in places, I did enjoy this reading (the reader was excellent!) and look forward to listening to the next in series. ( )