1 talking about this. I love when I find a winner with my book club and this is definitely a winner. It's not too much of a stretch to figure out how many were treated. by William Morrow Paperbacks. Add to that Molly and Vivian had several identical experiences and it just got old. She told me that when her family came over from Poland her mother had pink eye, and was sent back to Poland to try again. I had known about the Orphan trains and had even read a few previous books on that subject. The second narrative of Molly, a teen foster child, is marred by the way the author, Christina Baker Kline, portrays her oppressive foster mom. I borrowed a copy from them. Both come from toxic families, and were later placed in foster care after becoming orphans. 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. Some were treated like family members and well treated, other children were not so lucky. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? I would take this book, but your reaction to the ending augurs gloomily for my disappointment. Most became nothing more indentured servants. Instead, I found this to be a fluffy, shallow story chock full of huge stereotypes. It is also an interesting way to compare the ‘orphan train’ system to the foster system of today, and to consider how much things may have improved and how much more is still needed. Fascinating and well-written historical fiction. Orphan Train by James Magnuson and Dorothea G. Pierce (New York: Dial Press, 1978) is a novel inspired by the actual work of the Children’s Aid Society from 1854 to 1904, taking groups of homeless orphans from the streets of New York City to find homes in the small towns and farm villages of the Midwest. This happens to me frequently. One of the time lines starts one at 1929 following young Irish immigrant Vivian, but some of the people that take her in changes her name. With Molly’s support, Vivian decides to get a computer and reconnect with people from her past, particularly from the orphan train. This book is a historical fiction book about the orphan trains that ran form the east coast cities to the farmlands if the Midwest between 1854 to 1929. The other time line is 2011, a, I really loved this book. That came out in the late 70's. My only gripe with this book is, it's WAY too short, (only 273 pages) I didn't want it to end. The other time line is 2011, and we follow Molly where she is during community-service. Each character was painted with. This was the first time I'd heard of the orphan train. I have been a member of a book group since 2001: same members since the founding of the club and we read on average 6 books a year. Enjoy! [she actually has a drunken father around somewhere. I wish I had recorded her story, asked more questions, there is never enough time. 4.14 stars with 283,895 ratings on Goodreads…my jaw dropped. Her cup was empty. As a Midwesterner, I was really interested in this book after hearing it featured on NPR. Sometimes the people we end up connecting with on an emotional level are those who are not blood-related. Be careful, there are several books out there with the same title! Quite a few have sacrificed good storytelling for “woke” characters and politically correct plots by authors who have no business writing anything. I jumped in and looked at the description and looked forward to reading it. To be fair, every character of this book was essentially stereotyped by their. Stephen O'Connor. Faye: A great introduction to the characters of this brand new series. I am still wrapping my feeling about this book up because there was so much put into the 273 pages of this book. Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota, Orphan Train is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of second chances, and unexpected friendship. I asked her about her background, she was of Polish decent in a completely German town in Washington State. Here's an ad. The ending is melodramatic,but puts a quick, exciting spin on the conclusion. Its about a non profit group that takes orphan and homeless children across the US by train, so that they could be adopted by people/families. I find the orphan trains to be an interesting/horrifying time in our history. Orphan Train is an unfortunate train wreck of generic, formulaic, historical fiction plotting and all the subtlety and nuance of a Mack truck. She was pregnant and when she got back, she had a child that was not listed on the papers. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. So far, so good. It's amazingly tragic how screwed up the foster care system really was in America during the late '20s-early '30s. I enjoyed learning about the orphan train and the experiences of those who were forced to ride them. Sweet poignant story of real life movement to send abandoned street kids in New York to Midwest to be adopted. The same can be said about Molly's upbringing in foster care in the present day. We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day. Start by marking “Orphan Train” as Want to Read: Error rating book. Read 146 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. I loved reading Christine and Guy’s story. Me too, the book is amazing and I have read it multiple times, and would love to read it again! Persuaded to assist him on a trip out west with nearly 30 orphans, she bravely car. 1920's America, orphans were put on trains and taken to the Midwest. Genre Audiobooks Comment by user809162903. I found myself drawn to Vivian's chapters more than Molly's (not that Molly's chapters were boring or anything). Rich in detail and epic in scope, Orphan Train is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of second chances, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are. Dpi. Discover (and save!) Romance predictable. I was going to say this book reads like a YA novel, but then I realized that is an insult to some really well-written YA novels (The Giver, To Kill a Mockingbird, Flowers for Algernon...). However, it was ruined by a small, and to some, insignificant character and narrative. The author includes at the end of the book pictures of some of the children. I had never heard of these "Orphan Trains," and still find it heartbreaking to see just how horribly humans can treat one another, especially children. Series: Orphan Train #3 Published by Baker Publishing Group on December 4, 2018 Genres: Christian, Fiction, General, Historical, Romance Pages: 352 Source: Bethany House, NetGalley Amazon|Barnes&Noble|Goodreads. Rachel Rittenhouse: I can never go wrong with Jody Hedlund! Her community-service is to help an elderly widow clean out her attic. In the past 6 months I’ve read: The Orphan Master’s Son, The Goldfinch, The Panopticon, The Cider House Rules, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Eva Luna, and now Orphan Train. Buying watermelon candy in the early 30's? I've had this book since I was a kid. To see what your friends thought of this book. This book told a similar tale, and I could not put it down. In this book we follow two time lines. When I was 16 my Great Aunt Pauline told me the saddest true story. I like Judith's review of the book. When his fellow placing agent quits, Simon enlists help from the frontier town’s pretty schoolteacher. I received this book for my birthday and it was not one that I had heard about. Tell me, does it ruin the overall e. Very nice, Melissa. Well, this is what you won't do: panic. One of the time lines starts one at 1929 following young Irish immigrant Vivian, but some of the people that take her in changes her name. I was just expecting something a little more adult in terms of the writing style. "Orphan Train" is a book set in both the present day and the late 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. This is another one of those "this book could have been so much better" books. This is the story of one girl who is now an old lady and is telling her story to a girl who is helping her clear out her attic. Our protagonist, Emma is herself an orphan, but one who was raised in comfort by her uncle, the Reverend Symns. It was a time of no background screening, minimal paperwork, and only a willingness to alleviate the hoards of children who were homeless for a multitude of reasons. James Magnuson is the author of eight previous novels and the recipient of multiple fellowships and awards for fiction. The narrative is realistic and told by both characters. 1. One of the time lines starts one at 1929 following young Irish immigrant Vivian, but some of the people that take her in changes her name. Refresh and try again. Read it as a character description. It is impossible not to be emotionally drawn to both of these characters. Her cup was empty. Her community service job introduces her to Vivian, who is 92, and needs help cleaning out her attic. Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by pure luck. I do enjoy historical fiction where the writer has done a lot of research and you learn about a period in history. Set at the beginning of the 20th Century, The Orphan Train is the story of two children who meet on one of the infamous trains. Over the years I have seen a decline in good literature and the unfortunate convergence of formulaic writing. Aren’t all books? It had been empty for so long, then was filled a little with Mrs. Larson and Mrs. Murphy, and finally the couple who adopted her. Interesting read but kind of sad. However, I really liked this book, perhaps even better than the other one. The author did appear to do her research, so I'm not sure why she chose not to include more of it. Start by marking “Orphan train” as Want to Read: Error rating book. 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