Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39835 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-06
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Synopsis
It is Charlotte's first night in boarding school. But when she wakes up, the girl in the next bed is not the person who was sleeping there the evening before. And the new building outside her window seems to have metamorphosed into a huge, dark cedar tree! Somehow, Charlotte has slipped back forty years!

Customer Reviews

Get engrossed in a magical story
I heard about this book through my love of the band the Cure. They released a single in 1981 based on the book also called Charlotte Sometimes. The lyrics evoke a magical story and I was intrigued to get immersed in it.

The story drags you in from the first page and it's fascinating to see Charlotte living in an unfamiliar environment together with the plot twists within this. It really is the sort of book that once you start reading you pick up every moment of the day that you can. Charlotte Sometimes is a children's book so I found it easy reading although the book will be fascinating reading for both children and adults.

There is an additional ending not included in this version of the book (according to the reviews here and wikipedia) so I'm going to start searching second hand book shops and ebay to find an old copy. In some ways a copy of the book covered in dust from the back of some strange old book store would really add to the tale!

If you're a fan of magical and eerie stories then read this book. I'd love for Tim Burton or Terry Gilliam to turn it into a film! Let's start the campaign here...

In response to "Great book - but could someone help ..." MAY HAVE SPOILERS
No, it's not your imagination. In the pre-1985 book at the end, Charlotte receives a package from adult-Emily which contains a letter from Emily and the toys they had played with, which Miss Agnes had given them as children over forty years ago. This last part is NOT in the 1985 revised edition for unknown reasons. I think that's too bad as it's rather wonderful. I have no idea why it was edited; perhaps some research into Penelope Farmer (who still writes and has a blog) would answer the question!

Alley

Haunting
There is something haunting about this book by Penelope Farmer. It is certainly a mystery (and I am not going to give away what it was). Even though I have a poor memory, this book comes back to haunt me time and time again. I suppose it is because it is based on a real event in history. It was one that I had never heard of before I read the book but it made me look it up to see if it was true (and it was). It was something quite dramatic, even more than World War one and the plot revolves around this real life catastrophe.

Happy reading !