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ORPHAN TRAIN

by Christina Baker Kline ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2013

A deeply emotional story drawn from the shadows.

Kline ( Bird in Hand , 2009, etc.) draws a dramatic, emotional story from a neglected corner of American history.

Molly is a troubled teen, a foster child bounced from one unsuitable home to another. Vivian is a wealthy 91-year-old widow, settled in a Victorian mansion on the Maine seashore. But Vivian’s story has much in common with Molly’s. Vivian Daly, born Niamh Power, has gone "from cobblestoned village on the coast of Ireland to a tenement in New York to a train filled with children, steaming westward through farmland, to a lifetime in Minnesota." Vivian’s journey west was aboard an "Orphan Train," a bit of misguided 1900s-era social engineering moving homeless, destitute city children, mostly immigrants, into Midwest families. Vivian’s journey wasn’t entirely happy. She was deposited with the Byrnes, who wanted only child labor in a dressmaking enterprise. Then, as the Great Depression began, Vivian was dumped into the Grote household, where she suffered neglect and abuse. Only after the intervention of a kind teacher did Vivian find a home with a decent, loving family. The story unfolds through chapters set in the present day, with Molly, caught in a minor theft, forced into community service work and agreeing to help Vivian clean an attic. Other chapters flash back to the period from 1929 through World War II. In those decades, Vivian travels West, endures the Byrnes and Grotes, finds a loving home with the Nielsens, reconnects with Dutchy, another orphan-train refugee, marries and is widowed when Dutchy dies in the war. Molly’s life story unfolds in parallel—a neglected half–Native American child, whose father was an accident victim and whose mother drowned in drugs and crime—and Molly slowly opens up to Vivian. Kline does a superb job in connecting goth-girl Molly, emotionally damaged by the "toll [of] years of judgment and criticism," to Vivian, who sees her troubled childhood reflected in angry Molly. The realistic narrative follows characters as they change and grow, making a poignant revelation from Vivian entirely believable, as is Molly’s response to Vivian’s dark secret.

Pub Date: April 2, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-06-195072-8

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2013

LITERARY FICTION

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BOOK REVIEW

by Christina Baker Kline

ABSOLUTE POWER

by David Baldacci ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 18, 1996

The mother of all presidential cover-ups is the centerpiece gimmick in this far-fetched thriller from first-novelist Baldacci, a Washington-based attorney. In the dead of night, while burgling an exurban Virginia mansion, career criminal Luther Whitney is forced to conceal himself in a walk-in closet when Christine Sullivan, the lady of the house, arrives in the bedroom he's ransacking with none other than Alan Richmond, President of the US. Through the one-way mirror, Luther watches the drunken couple engage in a bout of rough sex that gets out of hand, ending only when two Secret Service men respond to the Chief Executive's cries of distress and gun down the letter-opener-wielding Christy. Gloria Russell, Richmond's vaultingly ambitious chief of staff, orders the scene rigged to look like a break-in and departs with the still befuddled President, leaving Christy's corpse to be discovered at another time. Luther makes tracks as well, though not before being spotted on the run by agents from the bodyguard detail. Aware that he's shortened his life expectancy, Luther retains trusted friend Jack Graham, a former public defender, but doesn't tell him the whole story. When Luther's slain before he can be arraigned for Christy's murder, Jack concludes he's the designated fall guy in a major scandal. Meanwhile, little Gloria (together with two Secret Service shooters) hopes to erase all tracks that might lead to the White House. But the late Luther seems to have outsmarted her in advance with recurrent demands for hush money. The body count rises as Gloria's attack dogs and Jack search for the evidence cunning Luther's left to incriminate not only a venal Alan Richmond but his homicidal deputies. The not-with-a-bang-but-a-whimper climax provides an unsurprising answer to the question of whether a US president can get away with murder. For all its arresting premise, an overblown and tedious tale of capital sins. (Film rights to Castle Rock; Book-of-the-Month selection)

Pub Date: Jan. 18, 1996

ISBN: 0-446-51996-0

Page Count: 480

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1995

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by David Baldacci

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THE SECRET HISTORY

by Donna Tartt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 16, 1992

The Brat Pack meets The Bacchae in this precious, way-too-long, and utterly unsuspenseful town-and-gown murder tale. A bunch of ever-so-mandarin college kids in a small Vermont school are the eager epigones of an aloof classics professor, and in their exclusivity and snobbishness and eagerness to please their teacher, they are moved to try to enact Dionysian frenzies in the woods. During the only one that actually comes off, a local farmer happens upon them—and they kill him. But the death isn't ruled a murder—and might never have been if one of the gang—a cadging sybarite named Bunny Corcoran—hadn't shown signs of cracking under the secret's weight. And so he too is dispatched. The narrator, a blank-slate Californian named Richard Pepen chronicles the coverup. But if you're thinking remorse-drama, conscience masque, or even semi-trashy who'll-break-first? page-turner, forget it: This is a straight gee-whiz, first-to-have-ever-noticed college novel—"Hampden College, as a body, was always strangely prone to hysteria. Whether from isolation, malice, or simple boredom, people there were far more credulous and excitable than educated people are generally thought to be, and this hermetic, overheated atmosphere made it a thriving black petri dish of melodrama and distortion." First-novelist Tartt goes muzzy when she has to describe human confrontations (the murder, or sex, or even the ping-ponging of fear), and is much more comfortable in transcribing aimless dorm-room paranoia or the TV shows that the malefactors anesthetize themselves with as fate ticks down. By telegraphing the murders, Tartt wants us to be continually horrified at these kids—while inviting us to semi-enjoy their manneristic fetishes and refined tastes. This ersatz-Fitzgerald mix of moralizing and mirror-looking (Jay McInerney shook and poured the shaker first) is very 80's—and in Tartt's strenuous version already seems dated, formulaic. Les Nerds du Mal—and about as deep (if not nearly as involving) as a TV movie.

Pub Date: Sept. 16, 1992

ISBN: 1400031702

Page Count: 592

Publisher: Knopf

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1992

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by Donna Tartt

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Author Interviews

After tragedy, young girl shipped west on 'orphan train'.

Orphan Train

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Christina Baker Kline's new novel, Orphan Train, is partially set in 1929, mere months before the stock market crash that would trigger the Great Depression. A young Irish girl, Niamh (pronounced "Neeve"), has just lost her entire family after a fire ripped through their tenement building. She is turned over to authorities who put her on a train bound for the Midwest. The train is filled with dozens of other children who have lost their families in one way or another; they are now hoping that their journey will connect them with new parents and a new, better life.

Kline's book is fictional, but it's based on the very true history of thousands of children shipped to the Midwest. Kline joins NPR's Rachel Martin to discuss the history of the trains, how young girls were often passed over by families and the most surprising fact she learned from train riders.

Interview Highlights

On the true story of America's "orphan trains"

"I was stunned to discover this part of American history that I never knew anything about and that I had never learned in a history book. I started to do research and I discovered that over 200,000 children had been sent on these trains between 1854 and 1929.

"There was a Methodist minister in New York City named Charles Loring Brace. He was a compassionate person and at the time there were no social programs for children in terms of social welfare programs, foster care, child labor laws, and so at the time, between 10- and 30,000 children were living on the street. And at the time also the railroads were expanding westward. And it was these confluence of events, the railroads allowed Charles Loring Brace to establish his vision of sending vagrant kids from the streets of New York to the Midwest to start working the land.

"It was [to try to find them new families], yes, but it was also to populate the Midwest and to provide labor. So it's very complicated, all the motivations for the orphan trains. And as I looked back and, talking to train riders who are still alive, there are a lot of mixed feelings about the whole enterprise. At its worst it was not much better than slavery. They were all between the ages of mostly 2 — but sometimes as young as babies, baby trains were called 'mercy trains' — and up to the age of 14. Those 14-year-old boys, 12- to 14-year-old boys, were the most in demand because obviously they were labor."

Christina Baker Kline is an English-born novelist and non-fiction writer. She lives in New Jersey and Maine. Diana Karin/HarperCollins hide caption

On the hazards facing the character in the novel and girls on the real orphan trains

"First of all, she has a name that's hard to spell — it's Niamh, which is an Irish name — and second she has red hair. I came across a newspaper article from The New York Times about how the trains that were being sent were not allowing redheads. It was just noted that they weren't wanted. But yes, so, my character is Catholic and she's taken in by several different kinds of families, but ends up with a Methodist family who want her to go to church with them.

"Adolescent girls were the last chosen of the train riders because they were seen sometimes as a threat to the woman of the household, and they also were considered incorrigible. The boys could live in the barn and it didn't really matter — and lots of boys describe living in barns or sheds. The girls would have to live in the household, but they often had accents that were hard to understand, or they didn't speak very good English. They looked quite different, perhaps. And so I wanted to convey the kind of rejection that girls had to go through in different ways. For example, my character goes into a household and the mother is always suspicious of her and ends up throwing her out because the father is just an alcoholic and, of course, it turns out, lecherous in some way, too, which is again, not an uncommon story, as you can imagine from situations like these."

On the most surprising thing she learned during her research

"The most surprising historical thing, I believe, is that time and again the train riders would tell me — and eventually as I read more and more I realized that this was very common — they believed they were the only ones. So a trainload of children would leave New York, and they didn't know that other trains were also leaving, and that eventually there were 200,000 children who were sent — so they felt quite isolated. They were separated from siblings, they weren't allowed to bring anything with them at all, their birth records were kept secret, so eventually in the 1960s and '70s, when finally train riders and their descendants started to make reunions, if possible, it was only then that train riders discovered that there were others."

On the strength and determination of orphan train riders

"Oh, my goodness, that trait was so common. And I don't know if it's a Midwestern trait or a human one, but there was an impulse toward looking for a narrative of redemption. In other words, they would tell me, over and over again, 'I had this hellish experience, I had to go into multiple homes, I wandered alone, I was abused, but I did, you know, meet the love of my life,' or 'I had the children ... and now I have grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and none of that would have been possible if I hadn't been on a train and so therefore ultimately it's a positive experience.'

"Part of the reason I wanted to write a novel was that in fiction I could do something that's difficult to do in real life, which is to dwell on the stark details of the experience without really needing to create that narrative of redemption. I wanted to show a strong character who would survive, but I also wanted to show how hard it was."

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Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

Finding Home in the Most Unexpected Places

Author: Christina Baker Kline

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Genre: Historical Fiction

First Publication: 2013

Language:  English

Major Characters: Molly Ayer, Vivian Daly

Setting Place: Present-day Maine; 1920s Kinvara, County Galway, Ireland; 1920s New York City; 1930s-1940s Hemford Country, Minnesota

Theme: Belonging and Connection, Self and Identity, Safety and Survival, Trauma and Loss, Secrets, Reality, and Illusions, Hope and Skepticism

Narrator: Molly’s story is told in a third-person-limited perspective; Vivian’s story is told in the first person.

Book Summary: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

Nearly eighteen, Molly Ayer knows she has one last chance. Just months from “aging out” of the child welfare system, and close to being kicked out of her foster home, a community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping her out of juvie and worse.

Vivian Daly has lived a quiet life on the coast of Maine. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past. As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly discovers that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.

The closer Molly grows to Vivian, the more she discovers parallels to her own life. A Penobscot Indian, she, too, is an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past. As her emotional barriers begin to crumble, Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life – answers that will ultimately free them both.

Book Review: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

Weaving together the stories of two abandoned children, one from the past and one from the present, Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline explores the depths of emotion children experience and the devastating consequences of abandonment . No platitudes proclaiming the resilience of children; reality rips into the heart of the reader with searing honesty. There is no “story-book ending”; even Vivian’s adoption by a kind couple cannot heal the past.

I’ve come to think that’s what heaven is- a place in the memory of others where our best selves live on.

In 1927 young Niamh Power, her Mam, Da and siblings had left County Galway in Ireland (and her beloved Gram) for the shores of America, assured of a better life for the family. The foggy arrival in New York harbour meant the Statue of Liberty was only a ghostly image in the distance, but she was sure their lives would not be as hard as they had been back home in Ireland. But within two years disaster had struck the little family, and Niamh was suddenly alone and friendless in a big city where she knew no-one…

“Time constricts and flattens, you know. It’s not evenly weighted. Certain moments linger in the mind and others disappear.”

Taken to the Children’s Aid Society Niamh found herself with other children, some younger and some older – but all were orphans just like she was. Everything was bewildering and when they were ushered onto a train some time later, she wasn’t sure what was happening, and where she and the others were going. As they travelled across the countryside, Niamh found herself in charge of a baby as well as sitting beside an angry boy not much older than herself. But slowly, quietly they talked and became friends.

At journeys end and as the time passed, Niamh was given to first one family then another – her name was changed more than once until finally she was Vivian. But the trauma of a horrific childhood, of being unloved and unwanted was heartbreaking.

It is good to test your limits now and then, learn what the body is capable of, what you can endure.

In 2011 in Maine, young Molly Ayer was seventeen years old – she had been in foster care for as long as she could remember, going from one place to the next, always unhappy, always rebellious. So when Molly had to do community service with an elderly widow cleaning out her attic, and that lady turned out to be Vivian, their lives became suddenly entwined. The amazing parallel of their lives surprised them both…

Kline does a masterful job of weaving together the stories of these two women, who are separated by generations and vastly different life experiences, but who share a sense of isolation and loss. The novel sheds light on the little-known history of the orphan trains, which transported thousands of abandoned and homeless children from cities to rural areas in the hopes of finding them new families.

The tragedy of the Orphan Trains which ran between 1854 and 1929 between the East Coast and the Midwest of the United States is a well-documented fact. The plight of the abandoned children, which numbered at around 200,000 by 1929 is horrific. But Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline is beautifully done, well written and certainly tugs at the heartstrings.

Orphan Train is a poignant and thought-provoking novel that explores themes of identity, family, and belonging. Kline’s beautiful prose and well-drawn characters make this a book that is both engaging and emotionally resonant. It is a must-read for anyone interested in historical fiction, as well as those who appreciate a well-told and heartwarming story of friendship and redemption.

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Thursday, February 2, 2017

Orphan train by christina baker kline (review).

Posted by Laura at Library of Clean Reads on February 02, 2017 in Adult Book Reviews Christina Baker Kline foster care Historical Fiction orphan The Great Depression TLC Book Tours | Comments : 9

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My mom says she remembers those orphan trains. I'm anxious to read this book!

Really? How interesting!

I enjoyed this one as well. I find the orphan trains an absolutely fascinating subject. Sad sometimes, but so interesting.

I agree. I did some extra research once I finished reading the book. I love books that teach me something new.

My dad and his siblings were orphans in the early 1900s, and I'm so thankful they were never handed over to some unknown family in this way. I enjoyed Kline's meticulous research and her gracious telling of the hurts evoked in some of the children's situations. Good review, Laura!

Did you ever ask your dad about what his childhood was like?

I always read the authors notes - I love getting a bit of insight into the story or the writing process or whatever the author wants to share. Thanks for being a part of the tour!

I do too. I always find the notes add something to the story itself.

I love how books remind us that kindness and empathy are always important. Even when we can't change the world, those acts can help someone, which changes someone's world.

Thank you for commenting! I appreciate your feedback.

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Book summary and reviews of Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

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Orphan Train

by Christina Baker Kline

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About this book

Book summary.

Paperback Original Orphan Train is a gripping story of friendship and second chances from Christina Baker Kline, author of Bird in Hand and The Way Life Should Be . Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to "aging out" out of the foster care system. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse... As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren't as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance. Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life – answers that will ultimately free them both. Rich in detail and epic in scope, Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are.

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Reader reviews.

"Absorbing...a heartfelt page-turner about two women finding a sense of home...The growth from instinct to conscious understanding to partnership between the two is the foundation for a moving tale." - Publishers Weekly "Kline draws a dramatic, emotional story from a neglected corner of American history." - Kirkus "I was so moved by this book. I loved Molly and Vivian, two brave, difficult, true-hearted women who disrupt one another's lives in beautiful ways, and loved journeying with them, through heartbreak and stretches of history I'd never known existed, out of loneliness toward family and home." - Marisa de los Santos, New York Times-bestselling author of Belong to Me and Falling Together "A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of American history. Beautiful." - Ann Packer, New York Times-bestselling author of The Dive from Clausen's Pier and Swim Back to Me "In Orphan Train , Christina Baker Kline seamlessly knits together the past and present of two women, one young and one old. Kline reminds us that we never really lose anyone or anything or - perhaps most importantly - ourselves." - Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle "I loved this book: its absorbing back-and-forth story, its vivid history, its eminently loveable characters. Orphan Train wrecked my heart and made me glad to be literate." - Monica Wood, author of When We Were the Kennedys "Christina Baker Kline writes exquisitely about two unlikely friends ... each struggling to transcend a past of isolation and hardship. Orphan Train will hold you in its grip as their fascinating tales unfold." - Cathy Marie Buchanan, New York Times-bestselling author of The Painted Girls "Christina Baker Kline's latest wonder, Orphan Train , makes for compulsive reading...Meticulously researched and yet full of the breath of life, Kline's novel takes us on an historical journey where survival depends upon one's own steely backbone, and the miracle of a large and generous heart." - Helen Schulman, New York Times-bestselling author of This Beautiful Life "A poignant and memorable story of two steadfast, courageous women...A revelation of the universal yearing for belonging, for family, for acceptance and, ultimately, the journeys we must all make to find them." - Kathleen Kent, New York Times-bestselling author of The Heretic's Daughter and The Traitor's Wife

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Christina Baker Kline Author Biography

Photo: Jerry Bauer

A #1 New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including The Exiles, Orphan Train , and A Piece of the World , Christina Baker Kline is published in 40 countries. Her novels have received the New England Prize for Fiction, the Maine Literary Award, and a Barnes & Noble Discover Award, among other prizes, and have been chosen by hundreds of communities, universities and schools as "One Book, One Read" selections. Her essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in publications such as the New York Times and the NYT Book Review, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, LitHub, Psychology Today , and Salon .

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Submitting a book for review, write the editor, you are here:, orphan train.

I remember at the age of 10 or so reading a novel about the late-19th- and early 20th-century orphan trains, which took children and babies from East Coast slums and brought them to the Midwest, where they were given an opportunity for a potentially prosperous new life in the fresh rural air. Not until I read Christina Baker Kline's book, however, did I realize just how romanticized this version was. ORPHAN TRAIN is a harrowing but ultimately uplifting story about this historical phenomenon.

"Readers who are unfamiliar with this episode in American history might be surprised to learn about the hardships and be struck by the parallels between Niamh/Vivian's experience nearly a hundred years ago and the foster care system today."

The novel starts in the present day, on the coast of Maine, as 17-year-old Molly Ayer is assigned to do 50 hours of community service as punishment for attempting to steal a school library book. Molly, a foster child who has a particularly tenuous and stressful relationship with her most recent foster mother, is worried about being sent away. So her boyfriend's mother, who cleans house for an old lady, Vivian Daly, suggests that Molly help Vivian clean out the boxes of old stuff that are clogging half of the woman's attic.

Molly is not sure what to expect, or what Vivian will think of her. She has a Goth sensibility with the looks to match, including many piercings and tattoos. At first, her meetings with Vivian are hours to endure, but soon she finds herself absorbed by Vivian's story and astonished by the connections to her own life.

Vivian, who immigrated to the United States from Ireland as a young girl, was originally named Niamh. When her entire family is killed in a fire in 1929, nine-year-old Niamh is turned over to a children's charity and put on an orphan train, sent to Minnesota in the hopes of finding a new home. Like Molly, though, Niamh's road to a loving home is anything but easy. After having made a fast friend on the journey west, Niamh is separated from him when she is not chosen at the first orphan train stop in Minneapolis. Instead, she arrives in a small Minnesota town, where she starts on a years-long journey toward finding something even remotely resembling a home. She's neglected, abused, overworked, underfed, and treated as slave labor. Only as a young woman is she finally able to find peace and something that looks like home.

As Molly learns Vivian's story, the parallels to her own story become more and more clear. She comes to see Vivian as both a confidante and a friend, someone who can help her and who she possibly can help, too.

Readers who are unfamiliar with this episode in American history might be surprised to learn about the hardships and be struck by the parallels between Niamh/Vivian's experience nearly a hundred years ago and the foster care system today. The afterword includes historical information, including a number of photographs, that will also help bring the period to life.

Reviewed by Norah Piehl on April 5, 2013

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

• Publication Date: April 2, 2013
• Genres: Fiction
• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
• ISBN-10: 0061950726
• ISBN-13: 9780061950728

•3 .5 million copies in print • A #1 international bestseller , published in 40 countries • More than 2 years on the New York Times , USA Today , and national Indie bestseller lists • 5 weeks at #1 on the NYT list, over a year in the top 5 • Over 100 weeks on the USA Today Top 100 list • Chosen as a “One Book, One Read” by hundreds of communities and campuses • A finalist for a GoodReads Choice Award, Orphan Train was included on dozens of GoodReads Top Ten Lists, including New York Times Fiction Bestsellers, Historic Fiction Set in the US, Favorite Works by Female Authors, Best Beach Reads, and Best Fiction about Adoption, among others “A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of American history. Beautiful.” – Ann Packer, NYT bestselling author of The Dive From Clausen’s Pier and Swim Back to Me

Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by luck or chance. Would they be adopted by a kind and loving family, or would they face a childhood and adolescence of hard labor and servitude?

As a young Irish immigrant, Vivian Daly was one such child, sent by rail from New York City to an uncertain future a world away. Returning east later in life, Vivian leads a quiet, peaceful existence on the coast of Maine, the memories of her upbringing rendered a hazy blur. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past.

Seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer knows that a community-service position helping an elderly widow clean out her attic is the only thing keeping her out of juvenile hall. But as Molly helps Vivian sort through her keepsakes and possessions, she discovers that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they appear. A Penobscot Indian who has spent her youth in and out of foster homes, Molly is also an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past.

Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota, Orphan Train is a powerful tale of upheaval and resilience, second chances, and unexpected friendship.   Click here for more background on Orphan Train.

“Christina Baker Kline’s latest wonder, Orphan Train, makes for compulsive reading–this is a story of resilience in the face of tremendous odds and oppressive loneliness. Meticulously researched and yet full of the breath of life, Kline’s novel takes us on an historical journey where survival depends upon one’s own steely backbone, and the miracle of a large and generous heart.” – Helen Schulman, NYT bestselling author of This Beautiful Life

“In Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline seamlessly knits together the past and present of two women, one young and one old. Kline reminds us that we never really lose anyone or anything or – perhaps most importantly – ourselves.” – Ann Hood, NYT bestselling author of The Knitting Circle

“I was so moved by this book. I loved Molly and Vivian, two brave, difficult, true-hearted women who disrupt one another’s lives in beautiful ways, and loved journeying with them, through heartbreak and stretches of history I’d never known existed, out of loneliness toward family and home.” – Marisa de los Santos, NYT bestselling author of Belong to Me and Falling Together

“Christina Baker Kline’s Orphan Train is a poignant and memorable story of two steadfast, courageous women—one young, one old—and their discovery of each other’s past as unwanted outsiders. It is a revelation of the universal yearning for belonging, for family, for acceptance and, ultimately, the journeys we must all make to find them.” – Kathleen Kent, NYT bestselling author of The Heretic’s Daughter and The Traitor’s Wife

“Christina Baker Kline writes exquisitely about two unlikely friends—one, a 91-year-old survivor of the grinding poverty of rural Ireland, immigrant New York and the hardscrabble Midwest; and the other, a casualty of a string of foster homes—each struggling to transcend a past of isolation and hardship. Orphan Train will hold you in its grip as their fascinating tales unfold.” – Cathy Marie Buchanan, NYT bestselling author of The Day the Falls Stood Still and The Painted Girls

“I loved this book: its absorbing back-and-forth story, its vivid history, its eminently loveable characters. Orphan Train wrecked my heart and made me glad to be literate.” – Monica Wood, New England bestselling author of When We Were the Kennedys

“In this poignant novel Christina Baker Kline weaves a tapestry of the intertwining lives of two women and affirms our hope that the present can redeem the past and that love has a genuine power to heal. Reminiscent of Elizabeth Strout’s Amy and Isabel, this Orphan Train carries us along until the stories of these two women become one.” – Mary Morris, bestselling author of Nothing to Declare and Revenge: A Novel

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June 10, 2001 Keep 'Em Moving New York's poor children were once saved by being exported. Related Link First Chapter: 'Orphan Trains' By RUTH WALLIS HERNDON ORPHAN TRAINS The Story of Charles Loring Brace and the Children He Saved and Failed. By Stephen O'Connor. Illustrated. 362 pp. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. $27. n October 1854, 45 homeless children traveled together by boat and rail from New York to Dowagiac, Mich., where they were auctioned off to local farmers and craftsmen, who gave the youngsters homes and put them to work in fields and shops. This was the first ''orphan train,'' the beginning of a system that ultimately relocated some 250,000 poor, orphaned, abandoned and runaway children from East Coast slums to rural areas of the developing nation between the 1850's and the 1920's. Charles Loring Brace, a Connecticut-born minister and reformer, thought this up as a solution to the wretched abuse and poverty he encountered among street children while he worked as a missionary with New York's Five Point Mission. In 1853, he established the Children's Aid Society and shortly thereafter orphan trains became the society's most successful program to rescue neglected and abused children; over a period of 75 years, the organization alone relocated more than 100,000 youngsters. Stephen O'Connor's ''Orphan Trains: The Story of Charles Loring Brace and the Children He Saved and Failed'' provides a biography of Brace, chronicles the first 50 years of his Children's Aid Society and tells the story of a number of relocated children. With the idea of orphan trains, Brace capitalized on the expanding network of railroads, on the westward shift of the nation's population and on the growing need for labor in the rural areas of the Midwest. His system drew on traditional forms of indentured servitude and on the new German residential school system for homeless children, the Rauhe Haus. Brace's goal was to provide a happy ''family circle'' for the many throwaway children who lived in squalor on New York's streets; his hope was that through the foster parent system, relocated youngsters would receive proper physical care as well as schooling and practical training for adulthood. He was not entirely successful. As the subtitle of the book indicates, while many children were saved by being folded into good homes, others ended up in situations as desperate as the ones they left. Children's Aid Society workers sometimes minimized and even ignored the traumas of those youngsters who were humiliated, exploited and abused (sexually and psychologically) by their foster families. Mounting criticism of the society led to the decline and eventual abandonment of orphan trains; charitable organizations gradually adopted the mode of assisting children within their birth families, so that children could remain with their parents while obtaining relief. In 1929, the Children's Aid Society's last orphan train left New York. At the heart of the book are the tales of the orphan train children. O'Connor has pieced together the experience of the children by drawing on the institutional reports and fund-raising publications -- collaborative fictionalizations'' that the Children's Aid Society produced to bolster its cause. Johnny Morrow, a charming, intelligent and resourceful boy, described a traumatic childhood of running away from an abusive father and eking out a precarious living peddling newspapers in New York until he was taken in by the society; he struggled to reconstitute his family by tracking down his siblings who had been removed through the orphan trains. John Brady, one of the society's most notable successes, began as a New York street tough and wound up as governor of Alaska. Charley Miller, an unwanted child who was shifted from birth home to orphanage to orphan train to a Minnesota farm without ever finding a real home or family, murdered two drifters and was hanged for the crime before he turned 18. O'Connor, the author of ''Will My Name Be Shouted Out?,'' an account of his experiences as a schoolteacher in New York, and ''Rescue,'' a collection of short fiction, tells these stories lucidly and gracefully. He is particularly evocative in his descriptions of the transportation conditions the children endured, the conditions of urban poverty in New York in the 1800's and of a typical day of a New York newsboy. His opening description of the first orphan train arriving in a small Michigan town and the orphans' fate at the hands of the potential buyers is splendid. Unfortunately, O'Connor focuses not on the children's lives but on Brace -- his privileged beginnings, his activities as an energetic reformer, the public criticism of his ideas and his organization at the end of his life. The children Brace pitied remain in the background. After opening with that riveting description of the Dowagiac orphan train, O'Connor gives 60 pages describing Brace's early history before he provides another look at the orphans, whose fascinating cross-country travels consistently take second place to Brace's intellectual journey. It is in the children's stories that O'Connor relates with greatest force the strengths and weaknesses of the orphan train system -- the relief on being rescued from the wretchedness of urban poverty, the uncertainty and loneliness of relocation, the difficulties in fitting into a new household, the disappointment or hope when the character of the second home was revealed. O'Connor also includes too many long quotations from Brace's writings, which dominate and weigh down the book. Brace's dense, wordy style contrasts with O'Connor's lean, graceful one; this is a case where the biographer could have told the story more powerfully than the subject did. O'Connor has obviously done significant research in order to understand, and to enable his readers to understand, the historical context in which orphan train children lived. His sources are not always apparent, however. He makes some startling claims -- for example, that there were no slums in 18th-century American cities or that children were routinely kidnapped in England and sent to the colonies in coerced bondage -- that require documentation. O'Connor is to be applauded for recognizing the value of the stories of the orphan train children, for picking them out and piecing them together from the Children's Aid Society literature and for placing them within the context of 19th-century urban poverty. His final chapter reflects on present-day child welfare policies and strategies, and he lobbies passionately for a system of diligent workers to oversee the placement and care of abused and neglected children in responsible foster families. Thus, ''Orphan Trains'' serves as a cautionary tale, for, as O'Connor shows, Brace's good intentions and earnest concern could not prevent many relocated children from falling into conditions that were as miserable as the ones they left behind. Now, as then, it takes more than a good idea to save the children. Ruth Wallis Herndon teaches history at the University of Toledo. She is the author of ''Unwelcome Americans: Living on the Margin in Early New England.'' Return to the Books Home Page

Mary E. Trimble

Captivating stories from the american west to west africa.

Book Review: Orphan Train

Orphan Train , a warm, compassionate novel by Christina Baker Kline, hooked me from the start. The story is at times horrifying and shocking, but also reveals courage and resourcefulness.

The tale begins with Molly, 17, in Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011. Molly has been in foster care for years. She isn’t really an orphan, but her father died and her mother was unable to care for her. She’s a bright girl, but with an attitude. Her foster mother isn’t tolerant of her Gothic style, nor her vegetarian tastes.

Orphan Train toggles between Molly and Vivian, whose story begins in New York, 1929. Vivian immigrated from Ireland to New York with her family. When the rest of her family dies in a tenement fire, she is suddenly an orphan and placed in the care of the Children’s Aid Society. Vivian, 9, along with many other orphans, is put on a west-bound train to be placed with families. At appointed train stations, the children are paraded out on a platform and inspected by possible future foster families, not all of whom have good intentions. Some are looking for strong boys for farm labor; some for girls to assist with child care and household chores. A few are looking for a son or daughter to be cared for and loved. Vivian’s situation goes from dire to dangerous as she’s shuttled from one home to another.

Back to 2011, Molly’s circumstances worsen when she steals her favorite book, Jane Eyre, from the library. To her credit, she steals the shabbiest copy, leaving two in better shape. Nevertheless, the incident is reported and she must serve time in community service hours. Arrangements are made for her to help an old woman clean out her attic.

Vivian, now 91, and Molly work together in Vivian’s attic and in the process get to know one another. They find similarities in their lives and their relationship grows.

I enjoyed Orphan Train and found the characters and situations realistic. From other research, I find the practice of children placed on orphan trains historically correct. Vivian’s situation was probably similar to many children, ranging from horror to love and security. Likewise, I think Molly’s story is typical of today’s foster care system. The author does a good job of weaving the two situations. The story kept my attention as it followed the lives of two girls with similar experiences but in different time periods. I recommend this book for its historical value, and also for its compassion and hope for second chances.

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Book Reviews

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline: Book Review

Molly Ayer has messed up one too many times. She’s caught up in the foster system and her latest mistake has left her with a choice of either fifty hours of community service or going to juvie. Her boyfriend searches around and finds out that his mom’s employer, 91-year-old widow Vivian Daly, needs help cleaning out her attic. Everyone agrees that this can be counted as community service so Molly heads over to the old woman’s house. She initially sees it as a chore but she’s pleasantly surprised when she realizes how much she and Mrs. Daly have in common.

In New York in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Niamh Power is left an orphan when her recently-immigrated family is killed in an apartment fire. She lives in an orphanage for a few months but then the Children’s Aid Society sends her out to the Midwest on an “orphan train.” Chaperones would take scores of kids around to different venues and basically give them to whomever wanted them. No one knew which would be worse–not to be chosen at all or to go to a bad family. Either way, the entire process was humiliating and nerve-wracking.

This was such a good book. I hadn’t ever heard of the orphan trains , but they were a reality in American history from about 1850 to 1930. Apparently over 200,000 children were relocated in this way. Can you imagine? With all the red tape today? Just show up at the train station and pick yourself out a healthy-looking boy to help Pa out around the farm. Of course you’ll promise to send him to school but who’s going to check up on that? Nobody. And who’s going to make sure that you’re feeding him enough? Again, nobody. And if Pa occasionally gets a little too rough with the discipline, well, it’s not like he’s family or anything. Maybe it was better than slowly starving to death on the streets of New York, but it was a deeply, deeply flawed process. Holy cow.

In a dual narrative like this, I think every reader will enjoy one story more than the other and that was true for me here. I couldn’t wait to get back to Niamh’s story. There was nothing wrong with Molly’s present-day story but the draw for me was the history. I related a little more to Niamh too. She’s a good girl who tries her best to blend in and do as she’s told while Molly, outwardly at least, is more of a rebel. I’m always going to understand the Niamh personality more than the Molly personality, at least in general and up to a point.

I hope this is okay to share…

I read this with my book club. One of my friends couldn’t wait to talk about her reactions to the book. She’s been through the foster system herself and she was blown away by how spot-on the whole book was. From the insecurity to learning to work the system in your own favor, she said every word was accurate. I’ve never been through anything like this (Thank heaven for a loving, supportive family) but I would guess that the rest of us liked it because it rang true. I’m going to get into the dangerous world of stereotypes here and say that most readers are an empathetic bunch so we’re going to notice if something just doesn’t feel right, whether it’s a situation we’ve ever personally experienced or not. This one felt right.

The book was not without its flaws but they are easily overlooked. There’s at least one huge coincidence that left me rolling my eyes. Events occurred that I just knew were setting up a future conflict that never happened. The ending was a little too tidy and it was definitely abrupt. Our whole book club agreed on that.

Read this for a look at a little-known piece of American history, to feel a little more thankful for your family if you’re fortunate like me, or to feel a little less alone if you’ve been through situations like this. It was a fast read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Read an excerpt .

Find author Christina Baker Kline on her website , Facebook , and Twitter .

Buy Orphan Train at

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This book is definitely on my to-read list! It does sound like it would prompt a lot of good conversation for a book club. Thanks for linking to the Immigrant Stories Challenge – I will be hosting again this year and hope you consider joining!

I've been wanting to read this one for a while. This isn't a topic I've read about very much, and I haven't read anything relating to the orphan trains.

Wow, this sounds like a great book!! I did not know about the orphan trains either (but am not American) but it sounds like an impressive read. I put it on my TBR list!

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Book Review: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

Posted January 16, 2017 by meezcarrie in Christina Baker Kline , historical / 13 Comments

Christina Baker Kline’s #1  New York Times  bestselling novel—the captivating story of a 91-year-old woman with a hidden past as an orphan – train rider and the teenage girl whose own troubled adolescence leads her to seek answers to long-buried questions…now with an extended scene that addresses the number one question readers ask, and an excerpt from Kline’s upcoming novel  A Piece of the World

“A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of America’s history. Beautiful.”—Ann Packer

Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by pure luck. Would they be adopted by a kind and loving family, or would they face a childhood and adolescence of hard labor and servitude?

As a young Irish immigrant, Vivian Daly was one such child, sent by rail from New York City to an uncertain future a world away. Returning east later in life, Vivian leads a quiet, peaceful existence on the coast of Maine, the memories of her upbringing rendered a hazy blur. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past.

Seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer knows that a community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping her out of juvenile hall. But as Molly helps Vivian sort through her keepsakes and possessions, she discovers that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they appear. A Penobscot Indian who has spent her youth in and out of foster homes, Molly is also an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past.

Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota,  Orphan Train  is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of second chances, and unexpected friendship.

GENRE: Historical/Contemporary Fiction PUBLISHER: William Morrow Paperbacks RELEASE DATE: January 10, 2017 (re-release) PAGES: 320

“And anyway, how do you talk about losing everything?”

I have long been intrigued by Christina Baker Kline’s Orphan Train but have not had time to read it before now. When TLC Book Tours contacted me, asking if I wanted to read it, I happily agreed. And I’m so glad I did.

The dual timeline poetically enhances the story, and the parallels between modern rebellious teen Molly and 1929 orphaned child Vivian are touching and profound. Their present day friendship, an unlikely match by anyone’s standards, seems to fill in what’s missing in each life; the changes they evoke in each other are at once tender and entertaining.

The history geek in me did cartwheels as I sank fully into this fascinating (and heartbreaking) period in American history. The orphan trains full of abandoned and orphaned children, the rules and standards the children were held to, the gamble that it really was. Who knew, after all, if they would end up with a kind family, an aloof family, or an abusive family. Or if “family” was really on the table, the orphan instead being adopted into what amounted to slavery. And the friends they made on the train – would they ever see each other again?

The jump to our current foster care system – and Molly’s journey through it – paralleled Vivian’s journey to find a home as well.  While I wish Molly’s foster parents had been portrayed in a better light (because I know so many wonderful foster parents), I understand why it was necessary for Molly’s character and the direction of the story.

Bottom Line:  The history in Orphan Train is captivating and haunting. From a look at Irish immigrants during the late 1920s to the orphan train itself to the stock market crash and even to more recent Native American history, you will find yourself swept away by the story even as you devour the history. It’s an emotional read, and one that will most likely linger with you long after you’ve finished it.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)

Reviewer’s Note: Readers may want to be aware that there is some extensive language (mostly from Molly) as well as some adult situations.

My Rating: 4 stars / Love it!

HarperCollins

Christina Baker Kline is the author of five novels. She lives out-side of New York City and on the coast of Maine.

Find out more about Kline at her  website , connect with her on  Facebook , and follow her on  Twitter .

Other Books by Christina Baker Kline

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Tags: historical fiction

13 responses to “ Book Review: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline ”

I loved this book too. So much, I recommended it for my book club. I’m eager to read more from Kline.

me too! I’m very interested in her newest

Excellent review, Carrie! Orphan Train sounds like a worthy read.

thanks, Caryl!

This has been been on my TBR for a while. So glad you enjoyed it!!

I hadn’t heard of the real orphan train before, at least until hearing about the novel. I’ve been wondering about the book!

it’s so fascinating!

After all the great things I’ve heard about this book I can’t believe I haven’t read it yet. This sounds like exactly my kind of book!

Thanks for being a part of the tour.

Sounds like a fascinating read!

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Book Review: Orphan Train

I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed this book! I’m sitting here wondering if I should write in the Prologue in its entirety? Because as soon as I read the Prologue I knew that I would not be putting this book down until it was finished. It was then I also realized it was going to be a book very much like On Canaan’s Side , by Sebastian Barry, of which I truly and absolutely enjoyed. Which then led me to reflect on my love for this genre and style of book in particular, and why the Orphan Train was such a wonderful read for me. It was the realization of my love for history, in particular personal and family history. I have always been drawn to history, excelled at it in school, and in particular I’ve always been very drawn to these very personal histories of families and children and their coming of age during times of immigration, hardship etc. I’m always amazed at what young children have been able to overcome and how they adapt, survive and grow in to adulthood. I’m also thinking I missed out on not taking any Anthropology courses in University. (hmmmm, should enrol in one now?)

At any rate, Orphan Train covers so much of these favoured subjects and is written so finely I finished it in a very short time period.  Background taken from Edelweiss about Orphan Train: Between 1854 and 1929, so-called “orphan trains” transported more than 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children between the ages of 2 and 14 from the East Coast to the Midwest for foster care and adoption. But their treatment often amounted to indentured servitude. Chosen first were infants, for more traditional adoptions, and older boys, for their manual labor; adolescent girls were typically selected last. While some children quickly found love and acceptance, many walked a harder road.

• Orphan Train is set in modern-day Maine and early twentieth-century Minnesota.  Kline spends every summer on the coast of Maine and has built a large fan base in the area.  She has also spent 25 years traveling to Minnesota where her husband’s family lives, and has strong ties to the orphan-train riders’ community in the state.

Christina Baker Kline also features on her website, her “work in progress”, which is this novel, and has more story with a few pictures of “ The Train Rider “. Please take a moment to read through, it really is fascinating and covers this subject that isn’t well known in American history. I’ve often read about the WWII stories of putting Jewish children, or simply their children on trains to take them away from their war-torn cities to a place of safety. In particular, Alison Pick’s novel, Far to Go  comes to mind. However, the Orphan Train is about the orphaned or homeless children living on America’s east coast in the late 1880s – 1930s whom were brought by train to America’s Midwest to be auctioned off (in a way) to people living in small towns or in the country.

After reading Christina’s story on her website and discovering that her previous novels also cover family history and cultural identity, I am for certain going to be adding more of her books to my To Be Read pile.

Orphan Train opens with Vivian (Niamh/Dorothy) Daly, now aged 91, sitting in her home in Maine 2011, recalling her early childhood plight and how she found herself riding the oprhan train from New York to Minneapolis. Throughout the novel, the story will switch back from present day to Vivian’s past and through the time she is placed in a myriad of homes. What begins to trigger Vivian’s memories is a result of the community service hours that Molly Ayers must provide in order to stay out of juvenile detention. Molly Ayers is a product of many failed foster homes and was caught stealing a library book. What occurs over these 50 hours of service is one very striking, yet unlikely friendship and a remarkable story filled with loss, longing, perseverance and determination.

Molly Ayers is a 17 year old girl that has been tossed around the foster care system for much of her life. Her father was killed in her young age and her mother mentally unstable and in and out of jail too much to properly care for her. Molly is living with a couple in which the wife, Dina, has absolutely no desire to have a teenage girl living under her roof, and the husband, Ralph, who wishes to have a better relationship with both his wife and Molly for he sees the potential in her. Molly has endured many years in the foster care system and thus, has created a harsh, unbreakable, goth exterior that includes a skunk-style dye job, multiple piercings and one tattoo and of course, one closed off nasty attitude. However, in order to remain with Dina and Ralph, no matter how troublesome this family is, and to not change cities or schools, Molly must agree to 50 hours of community service time cleaning out the attic of Vivian Daly, the very old lady living on her own in a mansion in Spruce Harbor.

Vivian’s childhood is really not all that much different than Molly’s, and during their journey through the many, many boxes of things from Vivian’s past, Molly begins to slowly shed her armored exterior and creates a close and strong bond with Vivian. With each item pulled from a box, Vivian takes us back to the time where it first came in to her life and we hear her very personal story of all she endured after arriving in Minneapolis those many years before. Vivian endured much and yet matured in to adulthood with a very strong reserve. Your heart will break for Vivian and you will also smile for Molly as she becomes closer to this formidable woman. Another solid 4-star read for me! I miss Vivian terribly and wish I could be the one sitting in her attic listening to her fascinating story.

You can read more about Christina Baker Kline on her website here .

You can read more about the orphan train riders on Orphan Train Depot . There are further personal stories of orphan train riders to read as well, one is Andrea Warren’s An Orphan Train Rider – One Boy’s True Story .

Thank you Marilyn! Thanks for stopping by and reading the review. I see this topic is near and dear to you!

So you must know about my biography, Mail-Order Kid: An Orphan Train Rider’s Story. Not only is the topic, Orphan Trains, near and dear to me but so is Teresa Martin, the subject of my book. We worked together on it, and I miss her mightily.

Hi Marilyn, yes I saw your book, it is a very interesting story, I will definitely read more on it.

I can’t wait to read this as I have a character in my novel (not finished) who was an orphan train rider. I had never heard of the orphan trains in all my years growing up in the Midwest. It fascinated me and I knew I had to use it somehow in my novel. I’m glad to see Christina feels the same way and I hope it does well. If anything, it will hopefully shed some light on a hidden part of America’s past.

Thanks for reading Hallie! I’ll look forward to seeing your book (when finished!!) It’s a very interesting subject!

[…] in a life filled with loneliness and strife. On Canaan’s Side and my most recent read Orphan Train also came to mind when reading this novel. I have had Morrissey’s novels on my To Be Read List […]

Have you all read THE CHAPERONE by Laura Moriarty? It came out this year. I heard her speak on the book and it was heavily influenced by the real life orphan trains.

Oh really? I do have that book on the TO READ mountain! Now I’m going to have to move it up quite a few notches! Thanks Anne for letting us know!

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Monday, May 23, 2016

Christina baker kline, the orphan train book review.

The Official Orphan Train Book Trailer

Are There Any Issues With This Book?

What else should you be aware of, would i recommend this book.

About This Contributor

Brenda loves reading and watching movies and sharing her reviews with you. She writes here on Review This Reviews as well as on Movie Treasures and Treasures By Brenda . She also sells an eclectic mix of interesting items as Treasures By Brenda on eBay. On social media, you will find her on Pinterest , Twitter and Instagram . If you visit her on any of these sites, be sure to say hello and how you found her. She’d love to hear from you!

10 comments:

I haven't read the book, Brenda, but I'm adding it to my "to read" list based on your (as usual) excellent review. (Trying to picture your husband wrestling that other book out of your hands... :) )

I briefly know the history of the Orphan Train, but have not read this book. It is now on my "Must Read" list of books as I'd like to learn more about the Orphan Train and now really want to know what happens to Vivian and Molly. Your 'teaser line' has me intrigued. Very interesting book review. Now go finish your other book! LOL.

I enjoyed this book very much. I was familiar with the orphan trains of the 19th century, but didn't realize it went on for as long as it did.

Thanks for visiting, ladies. Susan, I guess I exaggerated when I said wrestle. He really took the other book hostage, LOL. Can you picture that? Pat, I did finish the other book. It was really, really, really good and I will write about it on this blog one day... Linda, I am glad you enjoyed it, too! Happy reading, everyone!

Well, you certainly got my attention! I have seen the book reviewed before but was sure I could handle the inevitable stress at the time. I think I can handle it now and I really appreciate you reviewing the book and bringing it back to my attention. I shall order it now, and read it when I finish the book I am currently reading. No, I won't let you wrestle my current book from my hands :) I do want to read it though and decide first hand, without other influence, what I think of the major character you mentioned. I didn't watch the video! Yet!!! But, I'll be back after I read the book.

I've read this book and I loved it. I want to read it again. I had no idea that this was a part of our history. A definite must-read.

I too read this book for bookclub and was really glad I did. It was a wonderful book with lots of great insights into history. I think that is what I like about book club. It gets me to read books I probably would not have picked on my own. This one was a real winner. Thanks for the review.

Thanks, Ladies for your visits and kind comments. We'll wait to hear back from you Cynthia. Dawna Rae I rarely read a book twice because there are always so many new books to read but if I did, this would be one to put on that list. Mary Beth I agree with what you said about a book club stretching horizons though this is a book that I would have chosen on my own.

I have returned today, as promised, because I just finished reading "Orphan Train". It is a deeply touching novel, one that I honestly felt the author took her time on and developed her characters carefully in a very realistic way. Because of this review, I expected it to be emotional. How could it not be with every child being an orphan. I had no trouble whatsoever accepting the many different kinds of abuse discussed and described in the book. Those kinds of things happen to children who are born into a household, into a community way too often. During the years of the Orphan Train in American history, mere existence was difficult for most people. Many parents wanted to give birth to boys so they could help on the farm and girls so they could help with the children. I also had no trouble understanding that they would give back a child from the orphan train. I'm sure they would have viewed it as reversing a mistake for whatever reason. I also completely accept the idea that women would be quite jealous of a female child whether the jealousy was well-founded or not. My only pause, and I had to stop reading for a while to think about it, was the decision Vivian made during the war. After a few hours of contemplation, I decided it could easily happen exactly that way. People who are so devastated and who have already suffered so much in a few short years, could well make the decision to take what seemed like the easier path. I also considered that with all of the tragedy in her life, she might have felt cursed. I could even imagine her thinking a life was saved by the decision. Overall, I would say it is a great book and that I would highly recommend it with one exception. It does use a lot of expletives that I am not used to reading (of course I hear them) and it does get a bit too graphic at one point, but even all of that was realistic. Still, as long as readers understand things get a little "tough", then I would definitely recommend reading it and I thank you for recommending it to us Brenda. It was well worth reading!

Wow, thank you very much for your spoiler-free review, Cynthia. You did a great job of discussing the issue without actually saying what it was. I am glad you thought it was worth reading. I'll add your cautions to my text above.

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