Top 10 books about running away

Jill Hucklesby is a children’s author and screenwriter. Her books include If I Could Fly and Samphire Song.

For the Guardian, she named her top ten books about running away, including:

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

I've always loved animal stories. The Call of the Wild was a deeply affecting book to read as a young child, involving loss, cruelty, violence, loyalty and love. Buck, a St Bernard-and-sheepdog cross, begins life as a much-loved domestic pet, but is stolen, shipped to Alaska, and trained as a sled dog. He has to learn to survive in a pack, and to overcome cruelty from a succession of owners. When he finally finds kindness, it is ripped away from him. He has to avenge his last owner's death before running into the wilderness with a pack of wolves. It's a gripping, heart-wrenching read, at any age, and one I've never forgotten.

Read about another book on the list.

The Call of the Wild is one of Charlie English's top ten snow books and one of Thomas Bloor's top ten tales of metamorphosis. It appears on John Mullan's list of ten of the best wolves in literature and Alice-Azania Jarvis's reading list on dogs.

--Marshal Zeringue