Orphan Train

The author of Bird in Hand and The Way Life Should Be delivers her most ambitious and powerful novel to date: a captivating story of two very different women who build an unexpected friendship: a 91-year-old woman with a hidden past as an orphan-train rider and the teenage girl whose own troubled adolescence leads her to seek answers to questions no one has ever thought to ask.

Nearly eighteen, Molly Ayer knows she has one last chance. Just months from "aging out" of the child welfare system, and close to being kicked out of her foster home, a community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping her out of juvie and worse.

Vivian Daly has lived a quiet life on the coast of Maine. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past. As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly discovers that she and Vivian aren't as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.

The closer Molly grows to Vivian, the more she discovers parallels to her own life. A Penobscot Indian, she, too, is an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past. As her emotional barriers begin to crumble, Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life - answers that will ultimately free them both.

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.


This is another case of a book with duel narrators that I prefer one story over the other. Which would you guess I would prefer: modern or historical? If you guessed historical you are absolutely right and have paid attention in my previous blog posts! Good work! (sorry, this is not a game show. I'm in a funny mood.) I really did feel that the modern story was almost completely unnecessary. I think the intent was to create a parallel to make the historical story relatable, but I don't think it really worked. 

Although, the duel narrators weren't really an asset, the duel time periods of the same story were enjoyable. Seeing the items in Vivian's house mentioned in her past, and linking where they came from and why she wouldn't get rid of them was fun and interesting. It was one of the few positives of the modern story.

One aspect of both stories that I found I liked was that school was constantly a safe haven. It's nice to think that going to school can help people in so many different ways, that teachers can be guardian angels sometimes, and that any positive that can be extracted from a school setting is a good thing. I loved the message. (Even if the next book I read proved the exact opposite, stay tuned. It was a good one ;) ) 

Also, Niamh had the same birthday as Rosalie, so that was fun ;)

It was a good book, somewhere between OK and good anyway. I enjoyed most of it, and learned a bit about the history of the adoption process. And it made me appreciate the developments North America has made in helping kids in difficult situations. How Social Services are so ingrained as Human Rights that it is shocking to see a world without them. If anything, this book will want to make you go hug a Social Worker.