The #1 New York Times BestsellerNow featuring a sneak peek at Christina’s forthcoming novel A Piece of the World, coming February 2017.Christina Baker Kline’s #1 New York Times bestselling novel—the captivating story of 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 long-buried questions…now with an … leads her to seek answers to long-buried questions…now with an extended scene that addresses the number one question readers ask, and an excerpt from Kline’s upcoming novel A Piece of the World.
“A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of America’s history. Beautiful.”—Ann Packer
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. Would they be adopted by a kind and loving family, or would they face a childhood and adolescence of hard labor and servitude?
As a young Irish immigrant, Vivian Daly was one such child, sent by rail from New York City to an uncertain future a world away. Returning east later in life, Vivian leads a quiet, peaceful existence on the coast of Maine, the memories of her upbringing rendered a hazy blur. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past.
Seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer knows that a community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping her out of juvenile hall. But as Molly helps Vivian sort through her keepsakes and possessions, she discovers that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they appear. A Penobscot Indian who has spent her youth in and out of foster homes, Molly is also an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past.
Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota, Orphan Train is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of second chances, and unexpected friendship.
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Needed some edits
God book but it is fiction, many factual books about the Orphan Train out there.
It was an excellent portrayal through the lens of a very few people what happened during that time of sending children far away without knowledge of the outcome. Those who thrived, those who did not. A good read, with intense issues
A real eye opener to know this was fiction from true stories around the time of the depression.
A must read and a page turner. A bittersweet story of a young orphan girl and the world out there that she has to find her own way through.
Loved this book
Love it
A glimpse of our history not often mentioned
This really occurred so few years ago! I didn’t know!
I really enjoy historical fiction. This was a great read.
Enjoyed.
One of the best
stories ever.
Informative and tragic.
An amazing piece of (shameful) American history brought to life. Great realistic characters.
I remember my mother talking about the Children’s Aid Society. She grew up in the tenements if NY and her mother died when she was 7. She was fearful of this society as a child
A story about an event that occurred in history that I had never heard about. Unbelievable
This is a real event I knew nothing about. A haunting story about children caught in the midst of world problems and the often inadequate attention paid to their plight.
This is one of my all-time favorite books.
It brought history to life
I felt for the children in this book, what a life they had to endure!