Charlie Bone

Yes, it's another book about magic children.  There are similarities to Harry Potter, but this series stays simple and child safe to the end.  Charlie finds out that he has magic abilities at age 10.  He is one of the decedents of the Red King.  The Red King was the last great wizard.  He had 10 children, 5 of which were good, and 5 evil.  The evil side won and good disbursed.  Now all the children seem to be gathering at the evil Bloors Academy and the final showdown is fast approaching.  All that's left is for everyone to choose their side, but the good children have more allies than they know.

Audience
Both genders would like this book equally.  It's written at about a 5th grade vocab level and 4th grade reading level.

What I Love About These Books
There are a lot of laughs in this book.  The scrapes the children get in are as humorous as they are dramatic.  The kids are lovable and loyal overall.  The cats always make me happy, and I'm not a cat person.  A lot of the plot is scattered, but it is amazing to see threads of story from previous books picked up and resolved later.  These are light, fun reads.

Cautions
1) All the children have an individual talent related to their ancestor.  These are hard to keep track of, and I constantly flip to the chart in the front
2) The Bloors are very creepy.  Nothing inappropriate, but definitely scary.
3) As an adult, I solved the great mystery of the series by page 25.  Every plot line is predictable, but watching the characters develop is the fun part

Series
Midnight for Charlie Bone
Charlie Bone and the Time Twister
Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy
Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors
Charlie Bone and the Hidden King
Charlie Bone and the Beast
Charlie Bone and the Shadow
Charlie Bone and the Red Knight