Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline is a beautiful novel following the lives of two girls who have become orphans.

Molly Ayer is almost eighteen and is living through the child welfare system. It's not easy and she hasn't had the best of lives, but she's doing alright. She finds herself in a bit of trouble when she steals a library book which leads her to having to complete community service. Somehow, she begins helping a lovely 91-year-old woman named Vivian clean her house and the two form a beautiful but very unexpected friendship.

Or other timeline follows a young Irish immigrant girl who was orphaned in New York City. She traveled on the Orphan Train that took young orphans to random destinations to be adopted. Her life was tough but she managed to turn out alright...

These two stories intertwine and show the power of women, the persistence and strength of children, and a life full of second chances.

This book pulled at my heartstrings and almost made me weep! It's so beautifully written, so wonderfully engaging, and just an all around amazing read. It made me sad but by the end it warmed my heart up so much. I'm so happy I read this book because it truly opened my eyes to something I didn't know ever happened - Orphan Trains. While the story itself is not true, it is based on historical facts. Orphans did get put on trains and travelled across America to find their "forever" (or not so forever...) homes. The orphans weren't all treated fairly and life was tough. My heart aches knowing this was the lives of many people... and hopefully we are doing better. I truly hope we are.

I highly recommend this book for contemporary fiction lovers or someone who loves a good theme in their books. It's marvelous!

Five out of five stars. ( )

I was at first disappointed with the layout of this story. It was not at all what I was expecting, but it grew on me and about midway through I got rid of the chip on my shoulder and really began to enjoy the story. It bounces back and forth between present-day (2011) Molly, a gothic troubled 17-year-old in foster care, and the memories of a 91-year-old woman named Vivian, who was an orphan on the train back in 1929 when she was very young. Set in fictitious Spruce Harbor, Maine, Molly and Vivian find they have a lot in common and develop a lasting friendship and help each other through some pain while Molly cleans and organizes Vivian’s attic as part of her 50 hours of community service work for stealing a library book. I would definitely recommend this book because it is a very good story, but don’t expect a raw and deep story of the plight of the kids "on an orphan train". ( )

Really enjoyed the historical part of this book. Some MAJOR decisions/actions didn't seem to follow the characterizations portrayed. Won't be more specific to avoid spoilers. ( )

Between 1854 and 1929 two hundred thousand orphaned or abandoned children were shipped from the east coast to the Midwest. Many found happy homes but many more were abused and used for nothing more than free labor. So why did I only just learn about this in a work of fiction ? More and more I wonder why so many important historical topics were not covered when I was in school. Christina Baker Kline's novel Orphan Train is a touching and poignant account of what these children encountered. If you ask me it should be required reading ! ( )

Not normally a historical fiction reader, I was captivated by Vivian's story. I felt if I was there. If I wasn't so busy I would have read it in one sitting! ( )