Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline, came highly recommended by several friends and blog readers, and it did not disappoint. If you like historical fiction or novels that explore themes of family and finding acceptance, you’ll like Orphan Train. It reminded me of The Language of Flowers, another favorite of mine.
Premise
Orphan Train weaves two stories from different time frames. In the “present”, jaded teenager Molly, who has bounced through the foster care system for years, agrees to help an elderly woman clean out her attic for community service hours. In the “past” narrative, we learn the story of Irish immigrant Niamh, a girl who loses her parents to a fire in New York City and ends up on a train headed west, with hundreds of other orphaned children, to find a family willing to adopt her. These two very different characters end up having a lot in common.
What I liked
- I’d never heard of “Orphan Trains” and found this piece of American history fascinating. Apparently, from 1854 to 1929, over 200,000 orphaned or abandoned children traveled into the Midwest for adoption . Many times, the families who took orphans were merely looking for free labor. It’s an excellent illustration of an idea with good intentions that goes terribly wrong.
- With the use of a modern narrative, Orphan Train successfully creates an emotional connection to events from the past. I especially liked how the author brought together two characters with seemingly nothing in common and created a bond between generations. I also like YA and enjoyed having a teenager in the narrative.
- Although I’ve never been abandoned or orphaned, I found the main characters easy to relate to. Here’s a quote from Molly’s story:
But it kind of feels nice to nurture her resentment, to foster it. It’s something she can savor and control, this feeling she’s been wronged by the world.
Ouch, I know I’ve been guilty of nurturing some resentment. Here’s the good news: both characters learn to rise above this human tendency.
- The switch between narratives/ time frames did not confuse and helped to keep the pace of the plot moving. The author includes small surprises and twists that make the story compelling, but not ridiculous.
What I didn’t like
The “past” narrative is told in first person point of view by nine-year old Niamh, but often, she sounded more like a teenager to me. My book club buddies suggested that since Niamh went through such difficult experiences, it aged her, and that came through in her voice. I’m still not sure I buy it.
Notes on content
One of Niamh’s foster parents attempts to sexually abuse her. The scene is handled tactfully, but is fairly graphic (mentions male anatomy).
Have you read Orphan Train? What did you think? Can you recommend other historical fiction?
Happy reading!
I enjoyed this book too. I’m a fan of historical fiction, particularly when it focuses on an area of history that is rarely explored.
The quote you shared is a great one – nurturing resentment is something I have done too often!
Loved this book! Glad you read it. “Fostering resentment”…ooooh, that’s interesting!
I liked the play on words with “fostering”… I wonder if the author did that on purpose. 🙂
Haven’t read this one, but Wendy McClure has a series of MG books (starts with WANDERVILLE, I think) about the Orphan Trains that are great 🙂 Thanks for the rec!
And thank YOU for the kid lit suggestion. I think that would be interesting reading! You’re always such a great source for MG books. 😉
I love _The Language of Flowers_, too! On that comparison alone, I am adding this to my to read list :-D. Bonus: it looks like it will fit in with my Andrea Reads America project, being a book set (partially) in Maine by an author from Maine. Thank you Julia!
Awesome! Let me know when that post goes up. I’d love to know what you think of the book.