All the Green Year

by Don Charlwood

It was a year of outlandish happenings, a time when everything seemed to change for Charlie Reeve, a daydreaming lad growing up in a small Australian seaside town.

One of Australia's best-loved coming-of-age novels, All the Green Year is the story of a boy's journey towards adulthood.

Genres: Fiction, Australia, Childrens, Classics

Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the Green Year, by Don Charlwood (OAM, 1915-1912), is a classic coming-of-age story, made all the more pleasurable to read because it takes place not all that far from where I live. It’s set in not-now-so-fictional Kananook, in Frankston, about half an hour away by car, and although Charlwood’s story takes place in 1929, the beach and the glorious view from the top of the hill is familiar because we often drive through Frankston on our way to the Mornington Peninsula and beyond.

In the introduction, Michael McGirr notes that this book was a set text for many ‘baby boomers’ at school and that many of them still cherish their battered copies. The battered copy at left must be one of these: I found it in an OpShop some time ago, always meaning to read it, but not doing so until Text sent me their reissued edition. (Much nicer, and not falling apart!)

It’s a great story. Charlie Reeve is 14, in that no man’s land between childhood and adulthood, and 1929 is a year of ‘outlandish’ happenings for him. It’s the year he inadvertently rides a camel to school, gets his foot caught in a rabbit trap, has to go to his first dance, and – even more perilously – make the acquaintance of one of the most ‘dangerous’ girls in town.

It’s also the year when he must pass his Merit Certificate, because his whole future depends on it, but life conspires to make that as difficult for him as it is for his even less privileged mate, Johnno.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic Australian coming of age story. We studied this at school in 1983.

Re-read 20 Nov 2020: Just gets better with age!

Re-read in Nov 2025.

[Danielle Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don Charlwood re-released this book with Text publishing just before he died earlier this year aged 96. He was a prolific author, a war hero, an air traffic controller and an all round great bloke who also happened to spend a rather adventurous adolescence on the Mornington Peninsula in that awkwardly naive era that was rural Australia between the wars. 'All the Green Year' is a classic coming of age story that was used as a set text for high school students for over twenty years. It was an absolute treat to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming of age story set on Mornington Peninsula (Frankston) in the year 1929. Covers one eventful year of Charlie's life. Appealing characters. Great yarns. A good read. An insight into what the area was like in that era.

[Anne]

How wonderful to read about the place and era of my Dad's childhood

[Text Publishing · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Charlwood catches the idiom of his characters, projects them and brings them to glowing life.’
Australian

‘It has the Huckleberry Finn touch.’
Age

‘…All the Green Year is poised beautifully at that moment of adolescence when the small world of childhood suddenly becomes much bigger, with all the risk and sense of adventure that entails. It is a book with one foot in the air, hovering between innocence and its opposite, between the comfort of home and the dangerous lure of the horizon…For all its quintessential Australianness, Don Charlwood’s voice is very much his own. It is strong, resonant, compassionate, unsentimental and yet affectionate.’
Michael McGirr, from the Introduction

[Katrin V · Rating 4 out of 5]

superb - great historically, such well developed characters portrayed with compassion. No wonder it is one of Australia's most loved books. Apparently many have had to read it in high school. I hope to find more of his books.

[Susan Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great tale that readers of all ages will love.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a tragedy that Don Charlwood did not have the opportunity to become a full time writer earlier in his life, although he has left a great treasure behind him. I have loved everything of his that I have read and this one is no exception as it provides a great incite into the life of children growing up in an interesting period of Australian history. Give it a read and seek out Charlwood's other books. His book on his experience in bomber command in World War 2 is the best I have read on the subject as also are his great stories on the maritime disasters on the Otway Coast of Victoria.

[JESH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely coming of age book that feels like lived experience, a real memoir. Affectionate picture of a small town, warts and all. Confusion about the changing perceptions of growing up, finally the really gripping description of the boys being swept out to sea in a small boat as they tried to run away.

[annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was interesting surprisingly

[Sphinx · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 raised to 3

[Gillian RB · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Enjoyed this very much, especially as I spent some years as a child living in Frankston.

[Calzean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlwood's characters are a mixture of people he knew when he grew up. A book about 14 year old Charlie, his adventures and mates - Squid the boy next door who could talk his way out of anything, Johnno his best mate a brooding giant who discovers girls and can do nothing right according to the mean spirited teacher Mr Moloney, the new teacher who inspires him, a father who wants Charlie to do better than he has and a mad grandfather. An interesting look at life in 1929.

[Graeme · Rating 3 out of 5]

Australia's Huck Finn - a little less grand however.

[Ralphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Australian long forgotten classic.
Read it
😎👍📚✅

[Damon Isherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Australian coming of age classic. Hilarious and poignant. A wonderful book.