Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors

The Children of the Red King #4

by Jenny Nimmo

Classic magic and mystery from one of Britain’s best-loved authors of fantasy adventure. Perfect for fans of Harry Potter, Eva Ibbotson, Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart and Shane Hegarty’s Darkmouth.An Academy for magic and special talents. A destiny unfulfilled. A secret legacy.The fourth instalment of the international best-selling series from Jenny Nimmo starring Charlie Bone.Charlie and his friends are back in danger, and the balance of power between the Children of the Red King has never been more dangerous. Billy finally gets his longed-for parents, but he soon wishes he hadn't when the oaths he's forced to sign come flying through the air at him. Even with the power of Tancred's storms and Lysander's ancestors, Charlie Bone is running short of allies – just when he needs them most.Have you collected all of the Charlie Bone series?Midnight for Charlie Bone Charlie Bone and the Time Twister Charlie Bone and the Blue Boa Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors Charlie Bone and the Hidden King Charlie Bone and the Wilderness Wolf Charlie Bone and the Shadow of Badlock Charlie Bone and the Red Knight Also look out for The Snow Spider trilogy.‘Dark, funny, crackling with magic’ – author Artemis Cooper on Midnight for Charlie Bone‘A fast moving, dialogue driven romp with plenty of cliff-hangers for those first hooked into reading by Harry Potter’ – Bookseller on Midnight for Charlie BoneJenny Nimmo is the acclaimed author of the Charlie Bone series. She has won several significant awards for her children’s fiction, including the Nestle Smarties Book Prize and the Tir na n-Og Welsh Arts Council award for The Snow Spider. She lives in Wales with her husband, David.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Magic, Adventure

304 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 2005

About the author

Jenny Nimmo was born in Windsor, Berkshire, England and educated at boarding schools in Kent and Surrey from the age of six until the age of sixteen, when she ran away from school to become a drama student/assistant stage manager with Theater South East. She graduated and acted in repertory theater in various towns and cities: Eastbourne, Tunbridge Wells, Brighton, Hastings, and Bexhill.

She left Britain to teach English to three Italian boys in Almafi, Italy. On her return, she joined the BBC, first as a picture researcher, then as an assistant floor manager, studio manager (news) then finally a director/adaptor with Jackanory (a BBC storytelling program for children). She left BBC to marry a Welsh artist David Wynn Millward and went to live in Wales in her husband's family home. They live in a very old converted watermill, and the river is constantly threatening to break in, as it has done several times in the past, most dramatically on her youngest child's first birthday. During the summer they run a residential school of art, and she has to move her office, put down tools (type-writer and pencil, and don an apron and cook! They have three grown-up children, Myfawny, Ianto, and Gwenwyfar.

Reviews

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here I go again reading children's books to save my awfully behind reading challenge.

Just kidding, I love this series.
Any excuse to re-read it is valid to me.

And while a tiny bit of nostalgia may be playing into it, it's also simply a great series that somehow seems to get better and better with each book.

Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors is the fourth book of the series and I would definitely recommend reading them in order (which is something 10 year old me failed to do and ended up being very confused about.)

But anyway, assuming you made it to this review you probably read the other books already. So let's talk about the plot of this one:

As always, Charlie and his friends are facing off versus the evil Bloor family. But also as always there are some new challenges awaiting our favorite gifted children, including…

… a bunch of new gifted students, who have yet to choose a side to fight on

… another one of Ezekiel Bloor's failed experiments

… and a mysterious white Horse with the heart of someone else who may or may not be a reborn tyrant

If you are looking for a quick, fun magical middle grade series about friendship and some pretty special kids fighting evil forces/ the evil boarding school owners while being students IN said boarding school, I really can't recommend it enough.

Nothing much has changed since I first read it all those years ago, I'm still utterly in love with it and if we are friends on goodreads I should probably apologize for how often you see this series on your feed because of me.

I can't wait to re-read their next adventure!

[Furrawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moth. Horse bones. A buried heart. A good witch and an apple tree. A castle turned to glass by horror.

Awesome 4th book in the series!

[Niv · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re reading this too 😉

[⚘ Itz Lia the Bibliophile ⚘ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read all of the books in this wonderful series a couple of years ago! And found out that I hadn't rated them so here it is!

[Dinnu Reads Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a nice and simple middle grade book series and I am quite interested in where this story is eventually going! 🙂

[Jaemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I found the latest Children of the Red King book in the catalog I was really excited. Luckily I only had to wait about a week for the hold to be filled, and then I read the book in an afternoon. (Plus an hour.)

In this year's adventure, Charlie heads back to school only to discover some of his key up-points are not in fact present. Manfred Bloor is not in fact gone, neither is his creature-mate Asa Pike, and Mr. Pilgrim, the popular piano teacher, is missing. Even the good news that his friend Billy will finally be getting a set of parents carries no joy. As well it shouldn't.

I still tend to explain these books as "Like Harry Potter, only not." About all they have in common is crazy hair and going to a school for the endowed. But if you like magic and you like a fast-paced adventure and you like Harry, you'll love Charlie Bone.

Phantom horses, mystical castles, and more antics than the previous years will leave you turning the last page with the hopes that Book 5 is not far behind.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this book twice in July! Once on July 7th and again on July 9th!

I listened to it twice because I couldn't remember what happened in it from my reading of it on July 7th-8th. I now can't remember anything that happened in it! But I know I tracked it and enjoyed it on July 9th!

Simon Russell Beale did an excellent job performing this story! I thoroughly enjoyed his narration.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie's friend Billy has finally been adopted, but Charlie worries that Billy's new family are more like jailkeepers than loving parents. Billy is being held in a gloomy place called the Passing House, and it's up to Charlie to break him out and find a safe place where Billy can hide. They think they can hide at the legendary Castle of Mirrors since it used to belong to Billy's ancestor from hundreds of years ago, but they find something in the Castle of Mirrors that they didn't expect and it changes everything for Charlie.

Every book in this series is just so imaginative and interesting! I love the magic and the plot and the history of the Red King, and in this book we get to learn more about the Queen and her children as well.

I really love that Olivia gets some extreme character development in this book. She is not acting like her normal flamboyant self and all her friends are worried about her. It takes a mysterious woman with a special talent to convince Olivia to accept herself. It's such a lovely storyline!

Billy is so adorable! I just want to hug him and adopt him and feed him and give him toys. Poor sweet darling, I love him so much!

Another great storyline in this book is with a new student at the Bloor Academy, Joshua. He has a magnetic endowment that could cause some trouble for Charlie and the other endowed children. As the balance shifts between good and evil students, their powers are more important than ever if they want to keep the peace in the school.

I have been loving rereading this series! It's even better than I remembered!

This book has been screened on the Screen It First website. https://screenitfirst.com/book/charli...

[Ashtin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very amazed throughout reading this book! The author had a great use or word choice and an excellent perception of the settings. The author had me gripping my chair because of the suspense and mystery on what would happen during certain events in the book. I never wanted to put the book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen to Charlie next or how was Charlie going to get out of this situation.
I was very surprised at how the author changed the point of view throughout the characters. Sometime you would be reading from Charlie's eyes but then it would shift to another character. Even though the point of view shifted between characters sometimes, the main point was always brought back to Charlie's point of view. I like how the author made me feel as though I was actually with Charlie and experiencing Charlie's encounters. I felt as though I was actually inside the book.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

My seven year old continues to love this series. I think it's a great series for younger readers who like fantasy stories. A slightly better reader than my son could read these himself. As an adult reader, these stories are merely okay. The characters remain relatively simple and good and bad clearly and completely delineated. The castle of mirrors was a cool idea, if somewhat poorly executed here. The idea of a castle that burned in a (magical?) fire such that it essentially turned to glass (mirrors, get it?) is great. But nothing much is going on there. This author has several cool ideas and images, but she's having trouble stringing plots together that showcase these ideas in a truly interesting or compelling way. Maybe it's because she's trying to keep it simple enough for younger kids, but it's making the books fall flat for the adult reader here.

Recommended for middle grade readers who like fantasy and want something a bit easier to read than Harry Potter.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tables start to turn... Liking the lore that Jenny Nimmo is incorporating into the series. It's also silly how suspicious everyone is of everyone... and how everyone always seems to have a FEELING about something that magically ends up being true. It isn't the subtlest series, but still enjoying the innocence of it all!

[C.J. Milbrandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Returning for his second year at school, Charlie searches for a way to help his friends and restore balance at Bloor Academy. Histories and Hong Kong. Oaths and angels. Mismatched eyes and silvery moths. Buried hearts and blessed dogs.

Worrisome foes, yet glimmers of great hope. This is good storytelling!

[Nilsson]

I hope no one ever asks me to be a godfather. They seem always to be dying.

[Monique Goodroe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kind of disappointing. It was a long story, kind of random things and mysteries brought up that don’t make a ton of sense with the previous books, and then the ending you think “this might be good, billy will have a happy home with Cristopher C” and C just goes and sacrifices himself for Uncle Paton. Then the guy who was supposed to kill Uncle Paton was around for the entire book, and had plenty of opportunities to say, harm Charlie, but didn’t. It wasn’t my favorite, consider it the Prisoner of Azkaban almost in this series.

[Ashlie Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors is the fourth book in the Children of the Red King series. In this installment, Charlie and Co. must save outcast Billy Raven from his new parents and discover a child with a new gift.

Poppy and I loved this one because it kept our attention the whole time. There was so much action and different storylines to keep our interest!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still loving this series! Love learning about new characters and how everyone is connected and how all the past is linked to the present. The details are so clever. Enjoyable read all the way through.

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second book I've read from this series and I definitely enjoyed it!

It's kind of hilarious how easily people were suspicious of things or anyone throughout this. Mostly because I'm a very suspicious person and don't trust easily. So, in a weird way, I would probably fit into this world. Other than that, I enjoyed the adventure as well as the overall mystery. I kind of felt all over the place when it came to Billy's situation. I also liked seeing Charlie being a regular kid (in a way) like making mistakes. He's trying his best though!

I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in this series.

[Max Miramontes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Charlie Bone and the Castle Of Mirrors because it adds a lot of adventure and interesting details into the story. Like with Billy and Charlie staying back for the weekend. It adds lots of mystery to the story’s timeline and lots of clues. I would recommend this book if you like something adventurous and mysterious.

[Parinishtha Sharma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea

[LaRae☕️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie Bone, book 4. I'm reading the series because my child asked me to (she counts this series as some of her favorite books ever). Charlie, as a descendant of the Red King, is endowed with a supernatural gift; however, some of the endowed are evil. You get the gist.

[Elizabeth Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy how Charlie, in an effort to solve his own mysteries, finds himself helping others and collecting friends/allies. This was another enjoyable book in the series.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed listening to this book as I got work done around the house. I so hoped that Charlie had found his dad. I was also sad that Billy's "new family" was not a family at all.

[juniorpalo · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can call this the one “Charlie Bone and the great lock in of realizing he’s the main character or everyone is fucked.”

[Katie Bodle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that we’re starting to get into more of the mythology of the world and the Red King!

[Masoome · Rating 3 out of 5]

داستانش خیلی جذاب بود. من جلد ۳ و ۴ مجموعه ۶ جلدی رو خوندم و واقعا دوست دارم اون ۴ جلد دیگه رو هم بخونم. نمی‌دونم چرا امتیاز کتاب بالا نیست...

[Mariam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook is the way to go with these. Actually fun.

[Drebbles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlie Bone is worried about his friend, Billy Raven. Billy, an albino and an orphan, has longed for a family of his own and it seems like his wish has come true when Mr. and Mrs. de Grey agree to adopt him. Charlie is happy for Billy, but the de Grey's are friends of the Bloor family and Charlie doesn't trust them. Charlie is right to be worried - the de Grey's have powers that literally won't let Billy leave the house unless he is going to school. Charlie, his Uncle Paton, and his friends all try to find a way to get Billy out of the de Grey's house and to a place where he'll be safe. Charlie also wonders what is going on at his school Bloor's Academy. Piano teacher Mr. Pilgrim is gone and his replacement, Tantalus Ebony, is a bit odd. Charlie also wonders what's up with a new student, Joshua Tilpin, who seems to be magnetic. Charlie also wonders why his friend Olivia is acting so strange. On top of it all, Charlie keeps searching for his missing father.

"Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors" certainly has its good points. For one thing, some of the children grow as characters, especially Billy and Olivia. Author Jenny Nimmo also shows some increasing aspects of Charlie's ability to read the thoughts of people in photographs and pictures. There's a nice sense of humor throughout the book, with some punny word play and an especially funny scene at the Pet's Café. The fantasy elements are nicely done, especially the introduction of Alice Angel, and a wonderfully imaginative scene involving written oaths coming alive and attacking Charlie and his friends. The "flames" as always, add much to the fantasy elements.

However, the book has its flaws. While some characters are well developed, other characters aren't developed at all. Once again Nimmo awkwardly gets rid of characters without any real explanation as to why they are gone. New characters that are added are underdeveloped, especially Joshua Tilpin and Tantalus Ebony. With the exception of Uncle Paton, most of the "good" adults are once again useless, especially Charlie's mother, Amy. Charlie's life at school is not particularly well-written - it's not clear what classes he takes and what classes many of the teachers actually teach. One plotline - losing balance - was very interesting, but felt thrown in at the last moment and could have been much more developed. The ongoing plot line of Charlie looking for his father could have been plotted and written better since it's obvious who his father really is.

The Children of the Red King series is a quick, at times enjoyable read, but continues to be somewhat frustrating.

[bup · Rating 2 out of 5]

The magical children of Bland Academy set off on another uninspired adventure that take them to a mirrored castle that really doesn't do anything, and they defeat some bad guys and I don't really get the point of anything.

My favorite thing about the book by far is that the kid, at least as drawn on the cover, looks kind of like Art Stukas.

Clearly a ripoff of Harry Potter, and clearly written for a lower grade level, and clearly written by somebody who has observed people but doesn't get them. So activities and appearances and magical quirks substitute for real character. I imagine the author has a bunch of note cards tacked to the board behind her monitor-

Charlie Bone
- tall
- funny hair
- impetou impechuou control issues

Billy Raven
- short
- white hair
- talks to animals (remember - animals talk like Elmo!)

Paton
- tall
- light bulbs break wherever he goes
- likes Julia

It leads to excellent writing such as these passages demonstrate:

Charlie got a brief glimpse of Lysander's house as they passed a pair of tall wrought-iron gates. Lysander's father was the famous Judge Sage and the house reflected his important position.

If Albert was shocked, he didn't show it. Maybe some of his memories were coming back to him. Memories that were so bad, nothing would ever surprise him again.

She threw Charlie a quick, furtive glance and then disappeared. Curious about her strange behavior, Charlie ran across the road.

See? There's nothing terrible in there, but nothing interesting either. Even the magic is dull and pointless. It reads like an outline fleshed out by Jack Webb. I'm beginning to understand that what J.K. Rowling accomplished is really pretty special.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlies Bone is back yet again! He heads back to Bloors Academy and finds out that his friend Billy Raven is being adopted by the de Gray's. But Charlie suspects the de Gray's are not the kind loving family Billy has always dreamed of. Billy's true guardian reveals himself and sends Charlie and Billy caught up in a spinning mystery that has to do with the Castle of Mirrors. A new villian, Joshua Tilpin, emerges and is his magnetism a new threat or is it harmless and is Olivia Virtigo's endowment something the Bloors will discover?
This book is a hilarious riot and I should probably leave it at that but it's me so I won't. I just don't know where to start and I don't really want to give away any more spoilers. Charlie is caught between trying to rescue his friend Billy and visiting the Castle of Mirrors hoping that he will find his father there. In the meantime, Olivia is peeling away apple after apple when the peal seems to be endless. The balance is taken away from Bloors and Cooks rooms turn lopsided as an effect. The action is endless and the laughter is plenty with this book. I'd recommend it for any Harry Potter lover and anyone 12 and up. It is the 4th installment in the Children of the Red King Series.

[G · Rating 3 out of 5]

RATING: 3.12

A very Harry Potter book to me, but could be better.
Didn't like the fact Benjamin was taken out of the story just because he was not needed in the plot, while new endowed kids come in. As a matter of fact, the new kids have no character development in them. No explanation why were they helping the Bloors. No nothing. They only came on stage when the scene when things needed to be messed up in the plot.

The Castle of Mirrors doesn't grip your attention, no cliffhanger or something that would make you gasp out loud that forces you to the next page. But that doesn't mean it's boring either. Sure, the unique talents of the endowed children can let your imagination run wild, but this book is more focused on the adventure in which Charlie and his friends search for the Castle of Mirrors. Repeating the question: "Where should Billy stay now?" They discuss on various locations, but I don't find them settling on one decision. At the end of the book, I still don't know where Billy is going to live.

Some parts of the story are still messy, and some made me felt "Get on with it!" A few quirky scenes. Missed Benjamin. My silly fangirllish liking of Fidelio(Not sorry at all) and Paton(Cool dude here). Oh, and also Tancred with his "personal weather".