A review by librarylisa614
Charlie Bone and the Red Knight by Jenny Nimmo
4.0
Well, I had a fully-thought-through review, but Goodreads didn't save it. This one will be less eloquent :).
I enjoyed the final book of the Charlie Bone series. I felt that it summed up the other books nicely, finishing all of the storylines in a satisfactory way. Although there are an excessive number of similarities between Charlie Bone and Harry Potter series (seriously, there was no need for Charlie to have unruly hair also! or to have a best friend who has a big loud family of red heads!!!), I do feel that there is a small unique demographic for this series. Here are some things in it's favor:
1) All of the books in the Children of the Red King series are written at approximately the same level. If a student is ready to start the series, they can go straight through them. They are all a similar length and intensity (although, it does build slightly to the final book).
2) Charlie Bone is written to a more innocent audience. There is no cursing at any point in the series. The most romantic thing to happen is handholding between some of the supporting characters. The entire storyline, all 8 books, takes place in less than three years, so the content doesn't need to age with the characters. Even the violence is fairly innocent considering it is an epic battle between good and evil :) None of the "good guys" die, but (spoiler alert) there are a few deaths among the bad guys. Oddly, most of them were dead already, but time travelling into the future, so it didn't seem so morbid.
3) The final advantage I see for Charlie Bone's audience is that Charlie does not have the "me-against-the-world" life that Harry has. He is independent, impulsive, and often starts his journeys alone, but always ends up with backup, whether it's older friends, family members (even though some of them are evil), or at least his neighbor's dog :). I like that he has a loving support system but is still able to be an independent character.
In short, I think that Charlie Bone is able to reach a slightly younger demographic of strong readers who may not be emotionally ready for the content of the later Harry Potter books. I liked the series and I thought it stood on it's own well (after I got over the ridiculous number of similarities).
I enjoyed the final book of the Charlie Bone series. I felt that it summed up the other books nicely, finishing all of the storylines in a satisfactory way. Although there are an excessive number of similarities between Charlie Bone and Harry Potter series (seriously, there was no need for Charlie to have unruly hair also! or to have a best friend who has a big loud family of red heads!!!), I do feel that there is a small unique demographic for this series. Here are some things in it's favor:
1) All of the books in the Children of the Red King series are written at approximately the same level. If a student is ready to start the series, they can go straight through them. They are all a similar length and intensity (although, it does build slightly to the final book).
2) Charlie Bone is written to a more innocent audience. There is no cursing at any point in the series. The most romantic thing to happen is handholding between some of the supporting characters. The entire storyline, all 8 books, takes place in less than three years, so the content doesn't need to age with the characters. Even the violence is fairly innocent considering it is an epic battle between good and evil :) None of the "good guys" die, but (spoiler alert) there are a few deaths among the bad guys. Oddly, most of them were dead already, but time travelling into the future, so it didn't seem so morbid.
3) The final advantage I see for Charlie Bone's audience is that Charlie does not have the "me-against-the-world" life that Harry has. He is independent, impulsive, and often starts his journeys alone, but always ends up with backup, whether it's older friends, family members (even though some of them are evil), or at least his neighbor's dog :). I like that he has a loving support system but is still able to be an independent character.
In short, I think that Charlie Bone is able to reach a slightly younger demographic of strong readers who may not be emotionally ready for the content of the later Harry Potter books. I liked the series and I thought it stood on it's own well (after I got over the ridiculous number of similarities).