(Available on Open Library under the title Charley.)

Previous review below this one:

"Charley" is the better name, assuming one is familiar with the definition given in the glossary to this American edition: "a person who plays the fool, clowns around".

If anyone British does read this, I'd to know the translation of "windy." The glossary here gives it as "frightened" which doesn't make sense in context. Context isn't definite, but it may mean "wasteful: - ?

Anyway. This read was much more successful than the previous. It all fit better, was more successful. I'd been introduced to the girl in the first read, and this time I felt much more ready to get to know her. And, actually, to almost understand her. A wonderful book, almost worth five stars... too bad not many ppl will read it, no matter how glowing my recommendation.

But if you've ever wanted to run away, to be noticed, to be given credit for your efforts... if you've ever wondered if you deserve credit for your efforts, if you've ever wanted to be alone, if you've ever wanted to be loved closely.... you'll find rapport with Charley/ Rowan as she gradually figures out who she is, what she wants, and how to get it.

All the while having a fun adventure that can be enjoyed on a more basic, simple (but not simplistic!) level by children as young as 6, or as old as 12, or by students of childhood and the young-at-heart of all ages.

I do want to read more by the author.
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A bit odd. Hard to make a not misleading cover for, so try to avoid at least the one with the dog and caravan. Charley is the kind of girl I don't understand, no matter how many books I read about her type. Maybe because she uses her imagination (which I don't have much of one) and doesn't pack books when she runs away (!).

But there are certainly plenty of interesting places and characters and events in the story in addition to the girl. And the book is beautifully written. And there's a nice 'epilogue' sort of final chapter. I'd love to find more by the author.

Btw, the American edition has a glossary of British terms.

"It ain't what you've got nor where you go what counts, it's what you do with what you've got wherever you happens to be."

"She found that when she was hurt and angry, she forgot to be afraid, so... she deliberately reminded herself how hateful everyone had been, and how justly they would be punished when they discovered she had run away."

"They were things you would paint rather than write about. "Went to Thornley" meant nothing, but someone going up that long cart track, with the stones showing white through the tufts of grass, and the birds flying up, black, out of the hedges, and the sky huge and bright blue overhead--that was a picture of someone going from nowhere to nowhere."17 s Hilary 2,313 453

Having just read 'When Marnie was There' by the same author, we had high hopes for this book. A story that included running away, living secretly outdoors and with the cover showing a happy girl holding a smiley dog outside a gypsy caravan, we expected to be in for a treat.

Charley's parents are absent and she is being looked after by an aunt who doesn't enjoy the company of girls. Whilst the aunt looks after a brother Charley is sent to live with another aunt. Charley thinks the other aunt does not want her either so decides to runaway, having been inspired by a story romanticising life on the road. Charley soon finds the reality is neither glamorous nor fun. Here my daughter felt mislead, the story dwelt upon how dirty, bedraggled and raggedy clothed Charley was, often having spent the night under a tree in the rain but the cover clearly shows a happy, hair washed and freshly clothed girl in bright sunlight. The cover shows a gypsy caravan which was barely involved in the story, Charley doesn't even go inside it I don't think! We thought from the cover she might go to live in it, we also thought she was going to make friends with the nice dog, but the dog only appears on a couple of pages!

The character of Charley seemed implausible for that of a young child, I think this was perhaps meant to read in a humorous way but the muttering of 'suffering codfish' as a term of annoyance seemed more suitable to a grumpy old man than a young girl. The idea that she kept her food hidden in a henhouse, even supposing it was a disused,made us both comment that the author cannot know what the inside of a hen house is .

There were some nice descriptions of nature. We found this book a struggle to finish, we persisted because we thought Charley's suffering was going to come to an end when she found the gypsy caravan and the dog. Many enjoyed this book though, and rated it highly.female-author-or-illustrator norfolk orphan-stories ...more11 s Jaime549 2

I adored this book as a child. It's the story of a young British girl who has been treated unkindly by her caregiver and mistakenly believes that the next relative she's being shuttled off to does not want her, either. Charley runs away to fend for herself in the English countryside where her adventures help her learn something about herself and the adults in her life. I would love to get hold of this again; I remember being utterly enchanted by it. ETA: I just did a check and discovered this story also appears under an alternate title, The Girl Who Ran Away. Rare book, hard to find under either title! ETA AGAIN: I obtained a copy off Ebay and read it in an afternoon. It was every bit as charming as I remember, and from an adult standpoint I can also say it is extremely well-written. I'm so happy it has lived up to my fond memories of it!adventure children coming-of-age ...more10 s Leeann39

I read this book as a child, and it was one of my favorite books. I still remember the details of it and have tried several times to find it. I can't believe I just found it, I am so excited! It's just one of those books that you read and it sticks with you forever. 4 s Beth2

This was my favorite book from childhood. After years of searching, I finally located a copy of it in England. While reading the story, I felt I was reconnecting with an old friend. 4 s Amy530 19

This is a revisit. I remember liking this book when I read it as a kid, but I did not recall everything that happened. When I read it as a kid, I thought that living on my own that would be cool, and I didn't remember the ending and how she wound up so freaked out and scared.

Another thing that I thought was interesting... Charley had a pound and 10 shillings. She bought a LOT of stuff with that! Bread, lunch meat, cheese, ice cream, orange squash, plastic bucket, and some other stuff on her first trip to the town. Then bread and cheese again and soap, a sachet. I think it would be about $20 in today's US dollars. (Also, English money before they decimalized was confusing and I am not sure I ever reached the bottom of that rabbit hole)1 Shirley472 45

Charley was first published in 1969. Un most of the other readers who have commented on the book, I didn't come across it for reading until I was an adult. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I need to display our library's copy on top of a shelf to encourage our students to give it a try.

Charley is the middle-child in an English family who sometimes resents the attention given to her older and younger brother. When left in the care of an unpleasant aunt, Charlie takes advantage of an opportunity to run away. Her adventure is filled with the realities of survival as well as the flights of fancy characteristic of imaginations of those growing up.

In her travels she encounters a crotchety old character who has created a garden of gnomes that he has built himself. He tells Charley that "It ain't what you've got or where you go what counts. It's what you do with what you've got, wherever you happens to be."

Charley is a story of loneliness and our desire to belong. It is a story of success and our fears of failure. It is the story of the lessons we learn when we stop running away. Charley is a book for readers of all ages. 2 s Tehmina Kazi12 5

One of my favourite books as a child, which I recently revisited. Charley reminds me of myself as a child in many ways: unconventional and defiant, with a wild imagination and a strong code of ethics.

The book is well-written and the characters realistic. In many places it is quite funny. The relationship between Charley and Aunt Emm pans out beautifully, from hostile to achieving some sort of understanding.2 s Zara4 31

I read this when I was 9 or 10. Loved it for the daring adventure, the evocation of hazy summer meadows and dark star-filled nights. Charley was so brave to me, doing things that I would have loved to do but would have been too scared to do. Every time I encounter grease-proof paper or a piece of sweaty cheese I am reminded of this book. I think even today's sophisticated children would be fascinated by Charley's escapade!

Beautifully written. 1 Mary WarnerAuthor 1 book9

This was one of my very favorite books as a kid. When I became an adult, I decided to try to find it again at the library, but I couldn't remember the author's name. I searched and searched the stacks and finally found it and checked it out. It was just as good as I remembered it being.1 Gwen Haaland150 8

I am also one of those who adored this book as a child and just recently reread it. As another reader wrote, it was as charming and magical as when I first read it. A nostalgia trip for sure.adventure british celebrates-nature ...more1 SarahAuthor 19 books638

One of my all-time favourite books. I loved it as a kid and still love it as an adult.1 Aimee1 reviewRead

Childhood favorite.1 Seth LynchAuthor 11 books23

The kids enjoyed this one. It was a good read and a trip back to a gentler time.children1 Celestino319 31

After reading When Marnie Was There last year, I looked through her bibliography to see whether another one of her stories would catch my eye. The Girl Who Ran Away was the title I was taken in by the most, and I immediately added it to my TBR. I thought it might be a story full of whimsy and about the importance of found family. Looking back on it now, I was technically hoping I'd find a very similar book to the one I had read, which it is in certain senses. After all, it's the same author and the writing style is pretty similar, but the title can be slightly misleading after reading When Marnie Was There. I feel that the original title of the novel fits better. For anyone that doesn't know, Charley is defined as "a person who plays the fool, clowns around," and Charley does quite a lot of that throughout the novel. It certainly captures the mundane through the eyes of a child. The fact that she thinks everything will be fine after running away from an aunt she thinks doesn't want her around says a lot, even if she keeps in the vicinity. As the days go by, she wanders around pretending to be different people as long as it fits her needs. She makes some connections, such as with a man called Ned, who I really d. It's not until all the certainties around her are not so certain that all of the things she was weaving fell apart around her, and while she tries to hold them together by sheer force of will, we step outside her shoes for a bit, which was probably my favorite part. The moment the facade breaks and she gets taken in by Mrs. Denning was when I was being reminded the most about When Marnie Was There. Mrs. Denning and her son were probably my favorite characters, and I just love how they treated Charley with kindness. Very much the Lindsays in When Marnie Was There, I so wish I could stay over at the house of the Dennings. The friendship Charley develops with John was so sweet, and I know he'll be a great teacher. As for Aunt Emm, she was very careless. Tracy898 13

I bought this book from Scholastic when I was in the 4th grade in the mid-1970s. I was fascinated by it because it used British terminology and had a glossary in the back. The story was quite captivating to my 9-year-old self, about a young girl who is misunderstood and runs away. I remembered the hen house, the orange squash, the caravan, and the flute music.

I don't think I've read it since I was a child. It was just as captivating to me today. I noticed more details this time, how the adults treat her, her confusion, her fear, and how she tries to understand her despised aunt at the end.

children illustrated read-in-2023 Jolynn Hamelman34

I read this book when I was a little girl.( I’m 63 now.)
It made such an impression on me, I still remember it vividly. I was the 5th child out of 8, and rarely got to be alone. Reading about Charley’s adventures running away- it was so exciting. (I was also a big fan of “From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler,” so I guess I had fantasies of running away and having big adventures.)
Anyway, I couldn’t remember the name of this book, only the girl’s name, Rowan. I just googled “Girl named Rowan who ran away” and found the name of the book and author. Promptly ordered a copy from Abe’s Used Books and am looking forward to rereading it and passing it on to my grandchildren. Cathie (ClassyLibrarian)490 5

I searched for this book for so long! Childhood favorite! I remember wanting to be just Charley. I wanted to wash my face in few, eat bread and cheese on the grass while listening to the droning of gnats and to have a real adventure. One where I end up in a warm cozy bed eating warm food and feeling loved. Just perfect!! Bec570 2

It surprised me (mad child runs away, then gets reunited) in that it looked at the practical events, rather than the emotional ones. Emotions did feature, but they weren't over done. It was a good read, interesting characters, and some real issues that face a lot of families - what happens when someone gets forgotten or lost? And what if they don't want to be found. I enjoyed it. Krista22 1 follower

"I don't suppose anyone who ever did anything worth doing -painting, music, writing, anything that- ever did it for anyone else. It's just lucky if other people it when you've done it, that's all." D.C. SheehanAuthor 6 books9

As a child I tended to prefer tales with female protagonists (possibly explaining why I've gone on to create one myself) and this was one of my favourites.

Superbly written with a resourceful, brave, funny lead who I always wanted to emulate by running away. Kari272 6

My brother bought this through school book orders back in the day, and it ended up as a summer vacation read for me again and again (by choice). I stumbled upon it again just recently and enjoyed the adventure yet again! Sophie25

Dansk titel: Charley Classical Lady278 2

4.5obscure-reads Zahara Cerise cares about alien existential angst8 16

On Open Library the book is titled "Charley."children historical z-2019 ...more Sherri5

This book is one of my all time favorites from my childhood Gigi8 1 follower

This was my favorite book as a child along with The mixed of files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler. Sherri Dalton10

One of my all time favorite books. I really loved how Charly broke from everyone's expectations of her. Perfect book to teach children to be their own person Tiuri239 1 follower

I didn’t realize this book had any chance of making me tear up, until, unexpectedly, right at the end…it did. Jeanine10

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