This is so true for me!

Orphan Train

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Publication date: April 2, 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pages: 278

Summary: Between 1854 and 1929, the Orphan Train Movement transported thousands of orphaned, abandoned and homeless children from cities on the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, their fates determined by pure luck. Some were adopted by kind and loving families. Others faced a childhood and adolescence of hard labor and servitude. A few of the unlucky remained on the train and returned to the East Coast.

As a young Irish immigrant, Vivian Daly was placed on the orphan train and sent by rail from New York City to an uncertain future. Returning east later in life, Vivian leads a quiet, peaceful existence on the coast of Maine with the memories of her upbringing a painful and hazy secret. In the attic, hidden 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 a juvenile home for troubled children. But as Molly helps Vivian sort through her keepsakes and possessions, she discovers that she and Vivian aren't as different as shge first thought. A Penobscot Indian who has spent her youth in and out of different foster homes, Molly is also an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past.

Thoughts: Orphan Train is a well-written book that is bound to captivate your attention from start to finish. The author gives an accurate portrayal of circumstances that result in children growing up in foster care and the emotional hardships they endure once placed in the system. The relationship between Molly and Vivian is both sweet and believable. I wish more of the youth today had the opportunity to get to know and learn from the older generations who have lived through experiences we can't even imagine.

Learning about the history of the orphan train through Vivian's memories is by far one of the books highlights. Who knew about this incredibly interesting piece of history? I didn't. The story inspired me to do more research on the subject and led me to a couple biographical accounts I'm interested in following up on. Then, just when I thought I had the story figured out there was three plot twists I didn't see coming at all: Dutchy dying, Vivian giving the baby up for adoption, and Maisie surviving the fire.

I thought the book ended a little abruptly. I was content with the way it ended (once I over came my initial shock) but wish that the story had provided a little more detail about Vivian meeting her daughter and grandchild, as well as Molly's future. It was such a good story that I simply wasn't ready to say goodbye to the characters yet!

What's on your summer reading list?

I'm always looking for suggestions!