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A review by cdjdhj
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
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.