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Orphan Train

Christina Baker Kline

Start date: November 1, 2016

Finish date: November 30, 2016

Why we're reading this: November's Bonus Read topic/theme is National Adoption Month.…more
[close] November's Bonus Read topic/theme is National Adoption Month.

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Apr 01, 2013 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction

3.5 stars. "Orphan Train" is a book set in both the present day and the late 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Vivian traveled from NYC to Minnesota as a young girl on one of the infamous "orphan trains" that was used to get orphans out of the cities into the country where they might have a better opportunity to find families and to be able to make a good life. I've read a couple fictional accounts of what these orphan trains were like and it always amazes me that there was something like that in this co ...more

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Feb 10, 2015 J. Schlenker rated it it was amazing

Simply loved this book. Until reading this book, I didn't know about the orphan trains. This is a re-read for me. I read it last year, but felt I needed to scan through it once more as it was chosen as the selection for my next book club meeting. I got into the story so much again, though, that I ended up reading every single word, in lieu of the scan I had intended, and devoured the book in a day. Exceptionally well written. ...more

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Aug 31, 2015 Lisa rated it it was amazing

This book was quite powerful. The stories of the two main characters kept me turning the pages. It's about Vivian who was brought to Minnesota on one of the orphan trains of the twenties and Molly, a seventeen year old who has bounced around numerous foster placements. We learn how they were victimized by circumstance, the System, and individuals who managed to slip through the cracks. Somehow, Molly and Vivian find each other. It's a really good read. ...more

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Jul 23, 2013 Alisha Marie rated it really liked it

Shelves: e-books-i-ve-read, historical, read-2013

So, I automatically have a soft spot for any book that yanks me out of the particularly brutal reading slumps that I sometimes find myself in...those times where no book seems even remotely interesting and I have to force myself to read. Luckily for me, I decided to give Orphan Train a chance. It was the first book in weeks that I didn't feel the need to put down almost immediately because it just wasn't enthralling enough (and I've read the beginning of about 30 books during this time).

The reas So, I automatically have a soft spot for any book that yanks me out of the particularly brutal reading slumps that I sometimes find myself in...those times where no book seems even remotely interesting and I have to force myself to read. Luckily for me, I decided to give Orphan Train a chance. It was the first book in weeks that I didn't feel the need to put down almost immediately because it just wasn't enthralling enough (and I've read the beginning of about 30 books during this time).

The reason I think that I found this book so captivating is because the idea behind the orphan trains is absurd, even moreso when you consider that they actually existed. I mean, the Children's Aid Society basically deposited these children to anyone who wanted them...good or bad. There didn't seem to be any actual background check on who these people were, whether they would be a good match for a child, etc. These kids were just thrust upon strangers seemingly without consideration to how it would affect the children. I just find that appalling.

Anyway, Vivian's story was absolutely enchanting...despite how horribly it started out. Molly's story, however, wasn't nearly as captivating or interesting as Vivian's. I think that's the problem when you have a historical fiction novel with shifting narratives. The past is always going to seem more intriguing than the present, no matter how much the present may tie into the past.

Besides the fact that Molly's narration wasn't as great as Vivian's, the only other issue I had with Orphan Train was the ending. It just didn't seem as developed as the overall story and it fell a little flat. Then again, Orphan Train is one of those books that starts off so strongly that you don't want it to end, so that might have had something to do with it.

Overall, I found Orphan Train to be an intriguing page-turner. It's definitely made me want to learn more about the orphan trains and to check out non-fiction on the subject. Plus, I now want to read more books and feel like I finally curbed that brutal reading slump. And that's always a win. ...more

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