Read This!: Orphan Train

By Christina Baker Kline

I picked up this book because I had a gift card to Barnes and Noble and went shopping and even though I kind of gave it the side-eye, it must have piqued my interest as I bought it.

I had low expectations going in. Not because of anything I had heard about this book but just generally from the description, it seemed like not something I would get into. I was wrong.

Molly is a 17 year old foster kid in Maine in 2011. Because of a bit of theft at a library, she is forced to do community service at an old lady’s, Vivian Daly’s, house, cleaning out her attic. As the two of them go through Vivian’s things, Molly learns that Vivian was born in Ireland and her parents came to America in the 1920s. Through a series of events, Vivian found herself orphaned and put on an “orphan train” to the Midwest. The idea behind the orphan train (and these were a real thing) was that Midwestern families wanted children and would raise these orphans. The truth is that the older orphans were basically taken to work as free labor on farms and such until they were of age. Throughout the novel, we learn both Vivian’s and Molly’s stories.

I really, really liked this book. So much so, that when I was reading it, I didn’t realize I was at the end and was soundly and truly disappointed it was over. My original presumption that I would dislike it was therefore wrong and I highly recommend.