Orphan Train
Christina Baker Kline
Christina Baker Kline
I fell in love with this book
from the moment I read the blurb. Now I
know that sometimes you can read a blurb and think it will be one thing, only
to find out that it’s not quite what you were thinking. But this book, oh this book hit the nail on
the head.
As you all know, I love
historical fiction and this book bounces back and forth between modern times
and Depression-era Minnesota, to a time period between 1854 and 1929 where the
very common orphan trains were at their peak.
As a lover of period pieces, I
have often come across some popular tv series that have either brought up the
subject or focused on these orphans who are sent in trains to farmlands
carrying thousands of abandoned children, in the hopes of finding a family they
can become a part of.
Some find just that, a loving mom
and dad and sometimes siblings, but others unfortunately end up in a life of
hard labor from a very young age.
This book is so powerful in the
sense that it takes you back in time and places you right in the middle of
those children, and one such child is Vivian.
You can almost feel her sadness as she is removed from the home she’s
been living in and told she is being sent on the orphan train to a family in a
small farm. It’s heartbreaking to think
that a child can feel so sad, so broken and in such despair, but the author
does a wonderful job of conveying those feelings across.
Fast forward to present time and
we meet Molly who is doing community service to avoid juvenile hall, and the
person she is helping out is none other than a now 90 year old Vivian.
Two very different women, from
very different backgrounds, but brought together by fate and what they find out
is that they’re not that different after all.
Molly has been through numerous foster homes and doesn’t exactly feel
wanted or loved either.
Through moments spent together
cleaning out Vivian’s attic, they form a bond.
Beautifully written, emotional,
tugs at your heart strings and leaves you wanting more. This book is going on my favorites shelf for
this year.
Thank you to
TLC for providing a review copy of the book.
All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
The cover really catches my eye. I've read a couple of novels focusing on children on the orphan train. My Heart Remembers by Kim Vogel Sawyer is a good one. I can't even imagine how terrified they must have been being shipped across the country to destinations and life unknown.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a book I would really enjoy. Thanks for your review.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful books like this always make me want to run out and initiate an adoption! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your enthusiastic thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI can tell that I'd like this book! It's about a subject I have always been interested in.
ReplyDeleteHope you are settling in well to your new home!
Sherry
This book has been on my TBR list for months ... looks like I need to move it up to the top. I KNOW I'll love this one!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being on the tour.
- Heather J @ TLC Book Tours