Scan barcode
whimsicalmeerkat's review against another edition
3.0
I want to give this a higher rating quite badly. It was sweet and at times poignant, but it suffered pacing issues and occasional pandering to thrill-seeking. It could have been better.
reader4evr's review against another edition
4.0
I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I really enjoyed reading both parts but I felt like the chapters with Molly moved faster because the parts with Vivian were super sad. Foster kids have it rough now but I can't even imagine what it would be to go through the foster care system back during the Great Depression. I never knew about the orphan trains but I think this would be an interesting read aloud in a Social Studies class.
I'll be interested to see if students will enjoy this.
I'll be interested to see if students will enjoy this.
schofield24's review against another edition
3.0
True to form, I liked the flashback story much more than the modern story. I just struggle when the expletives come out. Otherwise it was a fascinating, educational read.
bandgeek3997's review against another edition
4.0
Really, it was a 3.5, but I was being generous and rounded up.
This book has two different narrators. One is the story of a young immigrant from Ireland whose family perishes in a fire. This girl is then put on a train that would stop in various places in the Midwest and drop them off with families wanting a child. The other narrator is a gothic teenager living in a foster home and hates everything/everyone.
I was annoyed by one of these narrators. I'll give you a guess which one it was.
The recount of the orphan train and the young girl's life unfolded naturally like a storybook. I cared about her— despairing in her hardships but rejoicing in her hard-won victories. It set a mood that transported me back to 1930.
The modern narrator was nowhere near as enlightening. And quite frankly, the writing became shallow during those chapters. Kline wrote masterfully in the other chapters, but here, she succumbed to cliche situations (a foster home where the evil mother is portrayed as the dumbest person alive) and foul language. There was such a disconnect between the two narrations that I often had to take a few seconds at the start of a new chapter and regroup.
Overall, I see the importance of the two narrations. The story needed it to work, and by the end, the two came together nicely. It would have been a much stronger book, though, if Kline had spent as much time transporting us to another world with the modern teenager as she did with the young immigrant of the past.
This book has two different narrators. One is the story of a young immigrant from Ireland whose family perishes in a fire. This girl is then put on a train that would stop in various places in the Midwest and drop them off with families wanting a child. The other narrator is a gothic teenager living in a foster home and hates everything/everyone.
I was annoyed by one of these narrators. I'll give you a guess which one it was.
The recount of the orphan train and the young girl's life unfolded naturally like a storybook. I cared about her— despairing in her hardships but rejoicing in her hard-won victories. It set a mood that transported me back to 1930.
The modern narrator was nowhere near as enlightening. And quite frankly, the writing became shallow during those chapters. Kline wrote masterfully in the other chapters, but here, she succumbed to cliche situations (a foster home where the evil mother is portrayed as the dumbest person alive) and foul language. There was such a disconnect between the two narrations that I often had to take a few seconds at the start of a new chapter and regroup.
Overall, I see the importance of the two narrations. The story needed it to work, and by the end, the two came together nicely. It would have been a much stronger book, though, if Kline had spent as much time transporting us to another world with the modern teenager as she did with the young immigrant of the past.
heyitsa_ashley's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jessikkaha's review against another edition
4.0
This was a beautiful but heartbreaking book. I loved every second of it.
readingonmountains's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. I loved the two main characters and their unlikely friendship. I enjoyed reading about their parallel stories, their struggles, their hardships and watching both women come out the other side with an admirable positivity & resilience. I also enjoyed reading about a subject I was not aware of before now. I will be recommending Orphan Train to my book club.
jrmarr's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book - probably closer to 3.5 than 4, but I found it pretty compelling and read through it quicker than normal at the moment.
cdjdhj's review against another edition
3.0
I saw this book first at Barnes and Noble and it looked interesting, so when our school library got it in, I was the first to check it out. There are two stories going on side by side in this book. One is the story of an "orphaned" Irish girl who is put on a train in New York City and sent to the mid-west, with other orphaned "street urchins" with the hope of finding some kind of new life with a solid, Christian mid-western family. The history of this "orphan train" movement, which ran from the late 1800s until the Great Depression, tells us that while some of the children ended up in loving adopted homes, many were abused and exploited or used as indentured servants. This is the plight of Vivian, who was put on an orphan train in 1929, at the age of 9 and now tells her story as a 91-year-old widow, who despite a difficult childhood, has had a rich and productive adulthood. Vivian tells her story to Molly, 17-year-old "ward of the state" who is trying to avoid going to jail by helping Vivian clean out her attic for community service hours. Molly's story is the second story going on in the book.
While Vivian's story is interesting and compelling, I really disliked how the text goes back and forth between the 1930s and 2011. Molly's story is little more than that of an foul-mouthed, ungrateful, rebellious teen who has a bad attitude. She is not in an abusive foster home, but manages to get kicked out over an argument about her desire to be a vegan.
To me, Molly's story detracts from Vivian's story. Vivian's story is one of strength and fortitude and overcoming against all odds. Molly's story is one of whining and complaining. It seems like the author put Molly in in the story only as someone for Vivian to tell her story to.
As an adoptee who was reunited with my birth family some years back, I found the entire ending of the book contrived and unrealistic at best.
There is a good story in this book, but the author needed to give the main character a better way to tell it. All-in-all, I am glad that I checked this book out of the library and didn't spend any of my own money on it. It really isn't much of a keeper.
While Vivian's story is interesting and compelling, I really disliked how the text goes back and forth between the 1930s and 2011. Molly's story is little more than that of an foul-mouthed, ungrateful, rebellious teen who has a bad attitude. She is not in an abusive foster home, but manages to get kicked out over an argument about her desire to be a vegan.
To me, Molly's story detracts from Vivian's story. Vivian's story is one of strength and fortitude and overcoming against all odds. Molly's story is one of whining and complaining. It seems like the author put Molly in in the story only as someone for Vivian to tell her story to.
As an adoptee who was reunited with my birth family some years back, I found the entire ending of the book contrived and unrealistic at best.
There is a good story in this book, but the author needed to give the main character a better way to tell it. All-in-all, I am glad that I checked this book out of the library and didn't spend any of my own money on it. It really isn't much of a keeper.
kourtneyhintz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault