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Charlotte Sometimes
(Aviary Hall #3)
by
A time-travel story that is both a poignant exploration of human identity and an absorbing tale of suspense.
It's natural to feel a little out of place when you're the new girl, but when Charlotte Makepeace wakes up after her first night at boarding school, she's baffled: everyone thinks she's a girl called Clare Mobley, and even more shockingly, it seems she has traveled f ...more
It's natural to feel a little out of place when you're the new girl, but when Charlotte Makepeace wakes up after her first night at boarding school, she's baffled: everyone thinks she's a girl called Clare Mobley, and even more shockingly, it seems she has traveled f ...more
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Hardcover, 190 pages
Published
February 20th 2007
by New York Review Children's Collection
(first published 1969)
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Showing 1-30
Start your review of Charlotte Sometimes (Aviary Hall, #3)
Mar 25, 2008
Cyn Coons
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
classic-childrens-literature
I will fully admit that I didn't discover this book in the traditional way.
I have to admit to being a HUGE fan of the Cure. Yup. That's 80's quasi-gothy band, lead by Robert Smith. What can I say, I've always liked boys in makeup.
One of my favorite songs by the Cure was always Charlotte Sometimes. I didn't have a clue that the song title was taken from a book, and that lines from the book were used in the song, as well as in the song The Empty World (She talked about the armies, that marched ins ...more
I have to admit to being a HUGE fan of the Cure. Yup. That's 80's quasi-gothy band, lead by Robert Smith. What can I say, I've always liked boys in makeup.
One of my favorite songs by the Cure was always Charlotte Sometimes. I didn't have a clue that the song title was taken from a book, and that lines from the book were used in the song, as well as in the song The Empty World (She talked about the armies, that marched ins ...more
Oct 15, 2007
Lisa (not getting friends updates) Vegan
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
fans of historical fiction, time travel, speculative fiction, boarding school stories
Great fun! I’d have adored this when I was 9, 10, 11. My 10 year old self gives this 5 full stars. If I wasn’t so in touch with my 10 year old self, I might have given this only 4 stars, but it’s a completely delightful and smart story.
It’s very suspenseful. It’s a fun meld of speculative fiction and historical fiction. Some aspects are ingenious. It was fun to try to figure out who one particular character was.
Charlotte is a wonderful character, and I was particularly fond of Emily. The mostly ...more
It’s very suspenseful. It’s a fun meld of speculative fiction and historical fiction. Some aspects are ingenious. It was fun to try to figure out who one particular character was.
Charlotte is a wonderful character, and I was particularly fond of Emily. The mostly ...more
May 31, 2015
Hilary
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
Readers who enjoy time travel, school stories, philosophical ideas
Recommended to Hilary by:
Lisa Vegan
Charlotte Makepeace starts at boarding school, I am guessing sometime in the 1950s. To add to her troubles of fitting in at a new school, she finds that she is changing places on alternate days with a girl who was alive during the first world war. Charlotte is confused and starts to wonder who she really is.
This is a beautifully written book, very thoughtful and philosophical. I am very sorry not to have read it as a child, but hugely enjoyed reading it aloud to my daughter and discussing the st ...more
This is a beautifully written book, very thoughtful and philosophical. I am very sorry not to have read it as a child, but hugely enjoyed reading it aloud to my daughter and discussing the st ...more
I would have loved this book to bits when I was ten years old. It has so many good things in it - time travel, boarding school, some nice historical facts , possibly a few ghosts........all good fun! Reading it now though it is quite clearly a children's book (not YA) and as such is a little bland and lacking in real action. So for me this was an excellent children's book, well written and entertaining although of course also old fashioned.
...more
I never heard of Penelope Farmer prior to reading Charlotte Sometimes, but now I want to track down all her books and read them. Charlotte Sometimes is her most famous novel and even has a song based on it by The Cure. Charlotte Makepeace is sent to an English boarding school in 1958. Every other day she wakes up to find that it is 1918 and everyone thinks she is Clare Mobley – even Clare’s sister Emily. When Charlotte (as Clare) is sent to board with a family in town, she becomes trapped in 191
...more
A wonderful and unusual time travel story. Another one that I missed as a child and was glad to find as an adult.
I’ve recently read “Charlotte Sometimes” if for no other reason than to compare The Cure lyrics of their classic song Charlotte Sometimes to parts of the children’s fantasy. This is what I learned and it’s very interesting. ***Spoiler Alter***
All the faces, All the voices blur
Change to one face, Change to one voice
First sentence: By bedtime all the faces, the voices, had blurred for Charlotte to one face, one voice.
Prepare yourself for bed
Second sentence: She prepared herself for bed . . . .
The ...more
All the faces, All the voices blur
Change to one face, Change to one voice
First sentence: By bedtime all the faces, the voices, had blurred for Charlotte to one face, one voice.
Prepare yourself for bed
Second sentence: She prepared herself for bed . . . .
The ...more
Oct 19, 2009
Kathryn
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
school-stories,
childrens-picture-books
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Jul 21, 2019
lucky little cat
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to lucky little cat by:
Obscure Vintage Children's Gems GR List, #29
A quiet time-travel book. Thirteen-year-old Charlotte goes to bed in the oldest bed in her new boarding school in 1958,
Not the same story, but I do love Eleanor Bron
and wakes up in the same bed in the school infirmary of 1918 with everyone calling her "Clare."
Farmer handles the history and the time-shift beautifully, and Charlotte is a thoughtful, likable heroine who's given a lot to ponder here. Because Farmer wrote the novel when WWI was still part of living memory, she comfortably ...more
Not the same story, but I do love Eleanor Bron
and wakes up in the same bed in the school infirmary of 1918 with everyone calling her "Clare."
Farmer handles the history and the time-shift beautifully, and Charlotte is a thoughtful, likable heroine who's given a lot to ponder here. Because Farmer wrote the novel when WWI was still part of living memory, she comfortably ...more
I enjoyed every single page. A story which plays the time-slip genre with great maturity. A story of a young girl finding her identity by losing it. The relationship between Charlotte and Emily was so intense. I'm really moved by the sense of change and loss.
...more
This is another book on the 1001 Kids Books list...It is becoming harder and harder to actually FIND these books that are on the list and soon, I might have to give up for awhile unless I want to actually start purchasing these books. Also, as I make my way through the last of the books I have found from the list that are available, I tend to like them less and less. That was not the case with this book...I thought the story line was very interesting and I loved learning about each little girl a
...more
Time travel and boarding school - how can you beat it?
My friend Ellen tells me that the Cure has a song called Charlotte Sometimes based on this book. How very odd!
My friend Ellen tells me that the Cure has a song called Charlotte Sometimes based on this book. How very odd!
Aug 18, 2019
Abigail
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
Young Fantasy Lovers / Readers Who Enjoy Time Travel Stories
School-story, time-slip novel, and third entry in Penelope Farmer's "Aviary Hall" series - a trilogy of loosely connected children's fantasies, following the fortunes of sisters Charlotte and Emma Makepeace as they learn to fly (
The Summer Birds
); travel, in Emma's case, back to the very beginning of life on earth (
Emma in Winter
); and, in Charlotte's, switch places with a fellow student from forty years before (here) - Charlotte Sometimes is a brilliant exploration of identity, and a se
...more
Charlotte has just started at boarding school. She goes to bed and wakes up and sees a different girl in the bed next to her. She realises she has travelled back 40 years and is in the place of Clare who has swapped places and travelled into Charlotte’s time. The story is told through Charlotte’s perspective as she lives Clare’s life in the First World War with Clare’s younger sister Emily. The two girls manage together in moving to lodgings, coping with the swap of Charlotte and Clare and worki
...more
I came to this book somewhat late, having learnt of it only through my adoration of The Cure (Robert Smith took inspiration from the book for three of his songs - 'Charlotte Sometimes', 'Splintered in her Head' and 'The Empty World'). I now share at least one thing with Robert Smith (in addition to my teen penchant for eyeliner); we have both been haunted by this book for years.
Two young girls make an improbable connection across time and space without ever actually meeting; this was hard-hitti ...more
Two young girls make an improbable connection across time and space without ever actually meeting; this was hard-hitti ...more
Charlotte Sometimes is a wistful, fascinating blend of boarding school story and time travel fantasy. When Charlotte wakes up from her first night at boarding school, she finds that she has been magically transported back into the past, where everyone thinks she's a girl called Clare, attending the same school forty years earlier. When she wakes up the next morning, she's back in her own time, but she soon realizes that she slips back and forth every night, spending every other day as Clare.
Far ...more
Far ...more
When I first heard the song which shares the title of this book by the 80's pop band, The Cure, I was enthralled. Astonishment ensued when I found out that the band had written the song about a story.
I had to order the book as it is no longer in print and paid a pretty penny for something I figured would be nothing more than a keepsake for my love of The Cure. From the first page it became impossible to put the book down.
I read it three times since I bought it and every time I try to figure ...more
I had to order the book as it is no longer in print and paid a pretty penny for something I figured would be nothing more than a keepsake for my love of The Cure. From the first page it became impossible to put the book down.
I read it three times since I bought it and every time I try to figure ...more
Nov 06, 2011
Melody
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
burton-browbeating
Ostensibly a time-travel book, this little gem is actually more about figuring out who one really is. Lots of interesting historical detail thrown in besides. And it's got the perennial hook of boarding school to add to the allure. The characters rang true- especially the confusion and dismay and mustering of wits. Recommended.
I read this over the summer and somehow missed reviewing it. It was a perfect book to read by the pool. ...more
I read this over the summer and somehow missed reviewing it. It was a perfect book to read by the pool. ...more
I read about Charlotte Sometimes on the Chicklit message boards, and it sounded interesting; and then finding out that Robert Smith had liked it enough to write a song about it cinched the deal and I ordered myself a copy. The book tells the story of Charlotte, a new girl at a boarding school, who wakes up one morning to find a huge tree outside her bedroom window where the day before there had been none. And more disconcertingly, the girl in the bed next to her is calling her "Clare." Charlotte
...more
I've been itching to read this book for ages. I'm so glad I finally got to it, because it was quite good!
The time-travel theme has been done many times, of course, but I quite liked how it was done here. As far as I can tell, Charlotte and Clare physically travelled through time (as opposed to just their consciousnesses travelling); they must have looked very much alike for so few people to have noticed the difference. But the story is not so much about the time travel itself as it is about iden ...more
The time-travel theme has been done many times, of course, but I quite liked how it was done here. As far as I can tell, Charlotte and Clare physically travelled through time (as opposed to just their consciousnesses travelling); they must have looked very much alike for so few people to have noticed the difference. But the story is not so much about the time travel itself as it is about iden ...more
Feb 26, 2016
Kathleen Dixon
rated it
really liked it
Recommended to Kathleen by:
the Bookshop
Shelves:
children-s,
time-travel
I have the vague feeling that I've read this book in the past. It was published in 1969; I turned 8 that year. It's highly likely that I found this book in the library that same year, or the next, or the next. I was already a voracious reader and loved time travel, ghost stories, magic, historical adventure. So this would have been a clear choice with its transport of Charlotte in 1969 back into the body of Clare in 1918.
The excellent thing about this book is the way Charlotte is led to thoughts ...more
The excellent thing about this book is the way Charlotte is led to thoughts ...more
4 stars.
This was a 3 star read for the most part but I liked how it all rapped up in the end. I have a feeling this is going to be one of those books that sticks with me and is remembered over the years and thought of.
This was a 3 star read for the most part but I liked how it all rapped up in the end. I have a feeling this is going to be one of those books that sticks with me and is remembered over the years and thought of.
Just as good as I remembered when I read it as a child.
I was so impressed by Penelope Farmer's 'Charlotte Sometimes'. It is a story of a girl growing older, of adjusting to life away from home for the first time, or a new life amongst unfamiliars.
What I appreciated most about the book were the implications it carried with it in regards to what it *is* to grow older. I think it's something of an impulse to think of childhood as something merely left behind—or that, we enter adulthood at the expense of a broad vivacity which gives our formative years ...more
What I appreciated most about the book were the implications it carried with it in regards to what it *is* to grow older. I think it's something of an impulse to think of childhood as something merely left behind—or that, we enter adulthood at the expense of a broad vivacity which gives our formative years ...more
Charlotte Sometimes is a children's novel which was published in 1969, by the English author Penelope Farmer. It was recommended to me by one of my work mates, and when I started reading it, I knew I was in for a unique reading experience.
It's initially set in a boarding school, we have various students and objects described to us in detail, it's fantastic, I felt like I was there, everything was as new to me as it was to Charlotte; who finds when she wakes up, things are different again!
What I ...more
It's initially set in a boarding school, we have various students and objects described to us in detail, it's fantastic, I felt like I was there, everything was as new to me as it was to Charlotte; who finds when she wakes up, things are different again!
What I ...more
I read this book as child (probably 8 - 10 years old) and that was *coughalmostfortyyearscough* ago and all I remembered was that I totally loved it!
Then recently, by a twist of fate, I discovered it was available on Audible and I couldn't resist having a nostalgic re-read.
It's definitely interesting t0 revisit as an adult, it's a very English book (which I didn't remember) and its actually quite a sad too, set at the end of the war, there's soldiers dying, children losing their parents and chil ...more
Then recently, by a twist of fate, I discovered it was available on Audible and I couldn't resist having a nostalgic re-read.
It's definitely interesting t0 revisit as an adult, it's a very English book (which I didn't remember) and its actually quite a sad too, set at the end of the war, there's soldiers dying, children losing their parents and chil ...more
This is an old favorite, one which I read as a child and rediscovered as an adult. It's a time travel fantasy, in which two girls at the same boarding school, one in 1918 and one in the present day (which was 1960 something---it's an old book) switch places. From a science fictional perspective, the book is flawed, not answering questions about how or why the transfer takes place. That simply isn't the point. However, by exploring the outcomes of their switching places---the bizarre relationship
...more
Aug 01, 2019
Smitha Murthy
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone who loves Children's Literature
I have been utterly beguiled and charmed. No. Not by any human being but by this wonderful wonderful book. ‘Charlotte Sometimes’ is everything that I have come to love about Children’s Literature - funny, whimsical, imaginative, and deeply philosophical. Oh yes! There’s so much in 'Charlotte Sometimes' about the nature of self and identity - I almost had tears at the end.
At heart, this book is about time travel. Charlotte finds herself back in time during the First World War with Clare. Simplis ...more
At heart, this book is about time travel. Charlotte finds herself back in time during the First World War with Clare. Simplis ...more
Growing up I became a huge fan of The Cure and “Charlotte Sometimes” was one my more favorite songs by them. And yet I had no idea it was based on a book. I just thought it was merely a song they had written about a girl who experienced some kind of vision about a faraway place and time. I thought it was like that episode from the 80’s Twilight Zone “A Message from Charity” where it wasn’t so much switching bodies as being able to see through another’s eyes.
But now, after having read the book, i ...more
But now, after having read the book, i ...more
I was expecting this to be whimsical and sort of funny but it turned out to be extremely suspenseful, at times creepy, and very thoughtful! The bits about World War I and the mystery of where the two girls would end up were terrifying.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What's the Name o...: SOLVED. about a girl in an orphanage who travels through time [s] | 5 | 569 | May 04, 2019 09:12PM | |
| What's the Name o...: SOLVED. children or YA - Girl falls asleep and wakes up in past (during WWI) - read in 1960s or 70s [s] | 4 | 38 | Sep 15, 2012 10:47AM | |
| Adult reader? | 3 | 42 | Dec 19, 2011 08:37PM |
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British children's author Penelope Farmer was born in 1939, in Westerham, Kent, the daughter of Hugh Robert MacDonald and Penelope Boothby Farmer. She published her first book, The China People, in 1960, going on to use one of the longer stories originally intended for that collection as the basis of her first novel, The Summer Birds, which received a Carnegie commendation.
...more
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