Riding Freedom

By: Pam Munoz Ryan

Date reported: Sunday, June 07, 2009

This story is about a young girl named Charlotte. Charlotte was a kind young girl who loved horses. She lived at a very strict orphanage because her parents died when she was 3. Now Charlotte was 9 and she still didn’t get adopted because people wanted a boy to help them work in the farm not a girl. Her only friends were Hayward, a cute 7 year old boy, and Vern, a stableman who let Charlotte be his stablehand. Charlotte always helped Vern with the stable.

One day she ran away to a place far from the orphanage, Rhode Island. There she cut her hair and dressed as a boy. Her name, sorry, his name was Charley. She then went to California and became a stagecoach driver. One day she lost her sight because a horse kicked her in the face. Later she proved herself by using her sense of smell and hearing to drive. She was called One-eyed Charley. She bought her a home with an apple orchard and chicken coop. She settled in California. She was the first woman to vote in California and in the United States.

“One day”, she said, “I will reveal my real identity.”

This is a very inspiring book. In this book I learned that you should always follow your heart. This book is based on a true story of Charley Parkhurst. It happened during the Gold Rush period.