Badass Family: The Gunns, who take on Asa in his beast form with only instruments at hand in the fourth book. It's supposed to be a school for geniuses. Okay, sure. There wasn't much to indicate that anyone there was actually very smart, but alright. But then, it's also a school for the "endowed" kids. Why? What purpose does it serve to have any of those kids there? There's no training for any of them, and there's no management of their powers at all. Well, other than their endowed only homework session. Not any special homework, of course. They just all have to sit at the same table, work on whatever they have, and not talk. It was entirely pointless.

Reading this book showed the writer in me that whilst characters need to learn and grow throughout a story, their problems don’t have to be resolved completely. The series begins with Charlie Bone accidentally getting the wrong photograph from the photo developer... And discovering that he can hear people talking in the photo. While he is perturbed at this development, his grandmother and great aunts inform him he has magical abilities and enroll him in Bloor's Academy where he becomes part of the music department (because of his supposedly dead father, who played the piano). At Bloor's, Charlie makes new friends, encounters strange magic, and learns all about the history of his Big, Screwed-Up Family. Left Hanging: It is never explained why the villainous faction was holding the famous pianist Alberto Tuccini hostage in the third and fourth books, nor what happens after he parts way with Charlie, Billy, and Paton. Kill It with Fire: What Borlath did to the Castle of Mirrors and its inhabitants. The only survivor was Amadis' youngest son, Owain.Time is running actually out for Charli . Charlie hopes that a new term at The Bloor’s Academy won’t hold nasty surprises. However, Henry Yewbeam appears after being twisted through the time from the icy winters of 1916. With scheming Yewbeam aunts on prowl and the Bloors fully out to catch him, Henry will require Charlie Bone’s help so as to stay alive. The Bloor’s Academy can be an extremely dangerous place . Combo Platter Powers: Guanhamara, the Red King's third daughter, has at least four endowments: psychic power, illusions, spirit-summoning, and witchcraft. Possibly justified in that she is so closely related to the Red King, but then again her siblings only seem to have one endowment a piece. On top of all that, there's no indication that Charlie's grandma or any of her sisters have any kind of power. It's stated that they're powerful, but there's no power actually mentioned or even alluded to. They can't even figure out how to get into Ben's house to look for the case they want (for some reason) - four supposedly powerful adults can't figure out how to get past a relatively gullible 10-12 year old kid who is perpetually home alone. Chekhov's Gun: The wand Charlie steals from Skarpo in the second book becomes extremely important later on. It not only helps free Henry from his prison, but saves Miss Ingledew from death, helps Charlie with any problem he has, and also is the key to fixing the damaged Mirror of Amoret. Don't Explain the Joke: "I think they only put 'FISH' up on that sign to explain the smell, if you catch me. And not because they're selling any."

One Person, One Power: Having more than one endowment is considered unusual in-universe. For some notable exceptions, see 'Combo Platter Powers' above. I really loved this book. Number one reason why I love this book was because of my little cousin who is eight. He loves Harry Potter as do I. I let him read the first 3 Harry Potters but once Harry started getting older and the plot became darker, I felt like it was not age appropriate, yet. I had a really hard time getting my little cousin into another book series until I stumbled on this series. As great as Harry Potter is the older books might not be age appropriate for younger children. Not only age appropriate but those book get pretty big and it might be a hard read for little kids. So I Loved this book because it was a great read plus younger kids like my little cousin could enjoy it. It is about the size of the first Harry Potter so we read it together.She has a part time job though. Where is that money going? Why doesn't she get a full time job? Why isn't she looking for other work? Why isn't his other grandmother doing anything? Really 700 Years Old: Yolanda Yewbeam, who's over one-hundred years old by the time of her appearance in Blue Boa but looks like a little girl, and also her father Yorath. In the first book, Charlie, Benjamin, Fidelio and Olivia are most prominent in the plot. The second book has Charlie, Olivia, Fidelio,

It turns out that Lyell Bone is the true heir to Maybelle's will, and thus heir to the Bloor's immense fortune. Eric Shellhorn can bring any stone statue to life. He lives with his stepmother Venetia Yewbeam because his sister (Miranda) and father (Arthur) escaped from the city. Venetia poisoned a shawl which stopped Eric's mother's heart, then made Arthur marry her.Gabriel Silk can feel scenes and emotions through the clothing of others. He comes from a long line of psychics. He becomes friends with Charlie early in the series. Mundane Utility: Charlie uses his wand to help him remember things he's studied for school. Olivia sometimes uses her illusion power to stir up mischief when she gets bored. She was kidnapped as incentive for her father to get the thing in the case working - for some unknown reason. Once he failed, they had no reason to want to keep the baby. After he died, they really had no reason to keep her. Not even as some sort of punishment. Cuz he's dead and no longer cares. It was far more inconvenient for them to keep her because they were paying her fake family lots and lots of money. The best was when he writes off the strange (and exceptionally talented) music teacher in the tower, who seems to be in a trance. After learning that his father was still alive. After learning that he was lost and likely hypnotized. After learning that he was an exceptionally talented musician. Zelda Dobinski is descended from a long line of Polish magicians. Her endowment is telekinesis. She can move objects with her mind and is distantly related to Inez and Idith Branko. She leaves Bloor's Academy in the third book and goes to study Math in a university.