Orphan Train

I can't say I didn't like this book. I read it in less than 12 hours with few breaks. But, after some digesting, I feel the book was a little to neat and pretty. Everyone got their happy ending. Literally, everyone. (Well, except one person). But, anyway, for a book that seemed to harp that bad things happen to good people and sometimes people just get the worst in life, its pretty hard to believe that every character would have ended up with a happy ever after.

I REALLY enjoyed this book. I had never heard of the orphan train program before reading this, and I was in turn fascinated and appalled. The resiliency of the children who were part of it and their focus on the good really came through. I feel so fortunate to have grown up with a family and parents who cared about me.

I normally don't love books that hop between story lines or time periods, but this was very well done. I looked forward to finding out more of each of the story lines, and the ties between them.

I think the main reason why it took me so long to get into the story is the fact that the two books I read directly before this one were comical. It was really hard transferring myself back into drama, heartache, and pain. Nevertheless, it was a lovely book, and such a lovely story. A book I would definitely recommend.
I really liked the historical re-tellings mostly. I never knew that much about Irish history in the United States, but of course I knew that they faced a lot of heartache. And then the Native American's tales. I knew it was so full of tragedies but the picture became clearer and much more pronounced in my head.
Thank you, Christina!

I liked the way this story compares the life of an orphan in the 1920's-30's to modern day children in foster care. It's very interesting to consider how challenging it would be and the similarities in the emotional scars that the children would have.

I felt a little bummer out while reading this book, but I still consider it a good read.

Niamh Power was born in Ireland, immigrated with her parents to New York as a young girl in the 1920's, and then lost her parents and the rest of her family in a fire when she was 9. The Children's Aid Society took her in and then shipped her and other orphaned children out to the Midwest to be "adopted." In Niamh's case, and others', adoption meant being brought to someone's farm, home, or place of business to work.

Niamh's story is told alongside Molly's, a 17 year old modern day foster child who is having conflict with her foster mother. When Molly steals a copy of Jane Eyre from her high school library, she has to do community service. The mother of her boyfriend arranges for her to help the elderly lady she works for clean out her attic, and Molly and the elderly lady strike up a bit of a friendship.

The two stories illustrate the vulnerability of foster children, and how, although the surrounding culture has changed, many things about being a foster child have not. Although this is not specifically marketed as a YA book, it is empathetic about the issues that young adults face, especially in a foster family. It might be a good choice for a teen.

There are a few easy ways to tell if a person loves a story. Sometimes the reader will want to read the book again. Sometimes the reader will tell others about the story. Sometimes the reader will head online or to the library to find other books by the same author or on the same subject. Sometimes the reader will pass the book on to others.

I wanted to do all these things with this book. If you like historical fiction, if you like to read stories with strong emotional content, if you like characters who stay with you, then read this book.