Retrieved from: Sparky's bookshelves
0749748885, 2002; 1740519051, 2003
Suggested by: Sparky
My Ratings: 7 Merit, 5 Interest, 7 Fun
Hot on the trail of some of the crumbs from the Harry Potter magic, this series has actually got something to recommend it (unlike some of the other HP ripoffs, which will not be mentioned here...). I must say, however, that the first one takes an awfully long time getting interesting, and in fact seems to stop rather abruptly. This is made up for in the second installment.
Charlie Bone lives with his mother and grandmother--nice normal people--as well as his uncle and other--not nice at all--grandmother in a house owned and run by the unpleasant grandma. His father is dead (or is he?) and his uncle is "strange." Luckily, he has a wonderful friend just across the street in Benjamin. When Charlie turns 10, he suddenly discovers that he can hear pictures, or rather he hears what's going on inside of pictures. His grandmother (and aunts) pounce on that discovery and immediately enroll him in a very creepy special school where his 'talent' can be developed.
Of course, some of the people specially 'endowed' (an unfortunate choice of words, IMHO) are evil, and some are good. Charlie quickly joins the good team, primarily because his aunts and grandmother are clearly on one team, and he wants nothing to do with them. OK, and because he's a nice guy too.
In the first book, he has something like quest in a labyrinth to accomplish. In the second, he has to help one of his ancestors who has time-traveled to the 21st century. They are very basic plots, serviceable and inventive, but not very complete. Where the world of HP holds together as a unit, and the people are (generally) realistic, Charlie's world has a large number of cardboard cutouts, which is ironic in light of his talent of bringing photos to life.
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