Riding Freedom

Riding freedom is a story about a girl named Charlotte who lives in an orphanage. She runs away and pretends to be a boy. After disguising herself as a boy she changes her name to Charley. She is chosen to drive stagecoaches and work at a barn. The main characters in this story are: Charlotte, Hayward, Mr. Millshark, Mr. Ebeneezer Vern and Mrs. Boyle. Once when Charlotte was driving a stagecoach a storm came right after she got across the bridge, it collapsed. This is an adventure for me.

My favorite character is Hayward because he is so nice and considerate to everyone, especially Charlotte. He also tries to make Charlotte feel better when Freedom dies. I can relate to Hayward because he was made fun of for his big ears and have been made fun of before to. It made me feel very sad when Freedom died and I think if you read this story you may feel sad too. I liked this story because it made me feel like I could almost ride Freedom; the author is very descriptive.

My favorite part was when Mr. Milshark asked to sit up in the front of the stagecoach and Charlotte said yes. Charlotte purposefully leads the stagecoach into the mud. She asks Mr. Millshark if he would try to get the coach out of mud. Mr. Millshark says yes so Charlotte tells Mr. Millshark to take off his boots. When Mr. Millshark is down in the mud working, Charlotte comes back up his boots are gone. I didn't like when Charlotte's parents died. Luckily Charlotte was thrown out of the stagecoach just as her parents were killed. I would recommend this book to kids who like heroes and adventure.

This is a fine book, well-written, fast-paced, and presents an unconventional character and underlying case for women's rights without being preachy.

Many books entertain, and many teach, but few can do both well. This outstanding book is one of the few.

The main character is Charlotte Parkhurst. She grew up in an orphanage in New England during the late 1810's. She loved horses. Though she enjoyed working in the stables, she did not like having to work in the kitchen "where girls belonged". However, her troubles really started when she rode a sick horse in a race, when she thought he was okay. The horse later died. As a punishment, the owner of the orphanage said she could no longer visit the stables. Heartbroken, Charlotte decided to run away, disguised as a boy.

She found a job in a stagecoach company's stable, where she took care of horses and drove stagecoaches. When two other workers in the stable decided to move to California and open their own stagecoach company, Charlotte went with them. When she got there, a number of wild horses that were going to be stagecoach horses had to be shoed. Charlotte was trying to shoe one when it kicked her in the eye. Consequently, she went blind in her eye.

After her accident, the owners of the new stagecoach company refused to let her drive their stagecoaches. But the determined Charlotte practiced for months, then persuaded her boss to let her try driving just one stagecoach. Though it was foggy and raining, Charlotte was able to drive well, because she had learned to tell what road she was on from the sound of the horses' hooves. When she reached a dangerous bridge, she forced her passengers to get out of the coach and go across the bridge before her. She came after them, driving the stagecoach. When she reached the other side, the bridge broke. The passengers realized that Charlotte had saved their lives. Afterwards, she became famous in that area as "One-Eyed Charley" who could drive a stagecoach over a gold piece using only "his" good eye.

When she was fifty-five, Charlotte, still disguised as a man, voted for the President in a small town in California. She was the first woman to vote in the United States, and that was before the amendment to the Constitution that allowed woman to vote. You'll have to read this amazing book to find out how Charlotte's lifelong dream came true, though.

Ryan did an excellent job of masterfully mixing pleasure and information into an exciting book. I was surprised to find out that this masterpiece was her first novel. I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing a fresh, pleasurable read.

What a fabulous character Ryan has put into words in this kid's novel of the life of Charlotte "Charley" Parkhurst! I particualrly loved the taut, mythic quality of the opening chapters and Charlotte's persistence in pursuing her dream.

Susan Williams, Wind Rider (Laura Geringer/Harper Collins Children's Books)

Charley/Charlotte is a very brave and daring person. When I read the novel Riding Freedom it moved me a lot. I couldn't put the book down until I finished Riding Freedom. I even wanted to look and see if there was a sequal to this intresting book! I hope people enjoy it as much as I did!