Quest for Lasting Love

Orphan Train West #3

by Jane Peart

Book by Peart, Jane

Genres: Christian, Christian Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Romance

296 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Jane Johnson Peart of Asheville, North Carolina, Humboldt and Marin counties, California, and in recent years, Hawaii, passed away in 2007. She was the author of more than 60 works of suspense, historical fiction and romance, which touched the hearts and minds of thousands of readers whose correspondence she treasured. She wrote for the secular and Christian market, and is best known for the Brides of Montclair series.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally was interested in this book because it was a book based on the orphan trains, but that ended up playing a very small, briefly addressed role. What I I found instead was a gentle and sweet story about an orphaned young girl's coming of age and reconciliation with her past and present lives.

[Avonlea Gal · Rating 3 out of 5]

love triangle where?

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet. Easy to read. Don't expect high drama. And everything will be wrapped up neatly by the end. It is a Guideposts book, so be prepared for heavy Christian theming.

[Kadi Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as her other ones but still good! Reminds me of Anne of green gables.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice story with a Christian element. Would be good for young girls to read.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this is billed as a Young Adult novel, I think it would be enjoyed more by 8-10 year old girls. Laurel is an orphan and is put on the Orphan Train going to Arkansas. There she is adopted by Leland and Ava Woodward who love her very much. However, she wants to find her "real" family and so, as soon as she graduates from high school, she heads to Boston where she does find her grandmother. In Boston, she also finds her true love.

Although this book was sweet, I found it kind of boring and the writing simplistic. There just wasn't a lot of emotion.

It was actually named "Laurel," and it says it was a simplified version of "Quest for Lasting Love." So, maybe the "real" book would have been better.

[Jomariem · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the whole, I thought that this was a pretty good story. The only thing that didn't seem realistic to me was Laurel's strong emotional attachment to her birth mother and unusually clear memories of her, considering her very young age when her mother died. She gave her birth date as 1884 and ended up in the orphanage in 1888, which means she would have been only four at the time. I highly doubt that a four-year-old would have those kinds of emotions and memories that would linger long into adulthood. If she had been older when her mother passed on, it would have been a bit more realistic. Otherwise, it was a very enjoyable read.

[Alecs · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's really a good book. I started crying on the first few pages. You could really feel the emotions that Laurel felt about her mother. How sad she was when her mother left her, and how happy she was when her mother wrote a letter. It's an great book and has a great message about love. You leave your loved ones, to find the history of what's left of your real loved ones and will eventually find another loved one who'll love you and cherish you forever.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure why, but Laurel's story was always my least favorite as a kid. Perhaps it's the overtly spiritual commentary that's a bit more subtle in Toddy's story - or maybe it's just that I'm not at all like Laurel, who is primarily gentle and lovely, whereas Jane Peart's other girls seem a bit more lively and relate-able to me.

Regardless, the ORPHAN TRAIN series is one of my favorite childhood reads and I've enjoyed revisiting them as an adult.

[Laurie D'ghent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. I liked that it didn't rehash the train ride from a different perspective, and that it attempted to explain why Laurel didn't want to take on her adoptive parents' name (wasn't a good enough reason for me, but I appreciated the effort). It really bugged me that Laurel just left her adoptive parents and didn't contact them again, even when she got engaged--even if the mother had her flaws, the father didn't seem to have any.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books! So sweet and innocent and lovely. Old books are the best sometimes!

This is the classic story of an orphan never feeling like they belong. Laurel has an amazing life but can’t feel settled until she goes back to her past. She finds some amazing things and a few surprises.

[Cws]

YA Pea

[Mom Taxi Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it from cover to cover in one sitting. Great story!

[Judie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable and sweet without delving too deeply into anything upsetting.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story with a happy ending.