Orphan Train

This is the kind of story I love to read, and this one was really well done. Needless to say, I'm really excited to read A Piece of the World! Stay tuned for that review. For Orphan Train, 4 stars.

Read my full review here: http://www.literaryquicksand.com/2017/01/review-orphan-train/

Niamh Power was born in Ireland, immigrated with her parents to New York as a young girl in the 1920's, and then lost her parents and the rest of her family in a fire when she was 9. The Children's Aid Society took her in and then shipped her and other orphaned children out to the Midwest to be "adopted." In Niamh's case, and others', adoption meant being brought to someone's farm, home, or place of business to work.

Niamh's story is told alongside Molly's, a 17 year old modern day foster child who is having conflict with her foster mother. When Molly steals a copy of Jane Eyre from her high school library, she has to do community service. The mother of her boyfriend arranges for her to help the elderly lady she works for clean out her attic, and Molly and the elderly lady strike up a bit of a friendship.

The two stories illustrate the vulnerability of foster children, and how, although the surrounding culture has changed, many things about being a foster child have not. Although this is not specifically marketed as a YA book, it is empathetic about the issues that young adults face, especially in a foster family. It might be a good choice for a teen.

Very good book. It ended well. I'm glad I read it.

I don't really know what to think about this book. The true story of the orphan trains is interesting, tragic and important, but the author made every possible wrong decision.

The characters are all flat stereotypes (drunk Irishman, bitter Native American foster child, kind teacher with no characteristics) and the story follows very predictable beats. The constant use of “Indian” in the modern sections is mind-boggling. The story is written like a middle-grade book to teach kids about the orphan trains, but contains a graphic rape scene.

This is an important story to tell, but there must be better books about it.

Amazing, historically fascinating book about the parallel lives of two girls in foster care: one in the early 20th century and one early in the 21st century. You get an accurate depiction of what their lives were like in this couldn't-put-it-down story. So well done.

Pleasant enough, compelling vacation read.

Really enjoyed this one. Tale of two orphans and how they cope with what life has thrown at them.

Un libro fácil de leer muy ágil y con una historia entretenida e interesante que nos cuenta las desventuras de Niamh, una niña huérfana llegada de Irlanda a New York con su familia, la que pierde trágicamente viéndose enfrentada a la orfandad, Molly, una adolescente de ascendencia Penobscot, que realiza servicio comunitario en casa de Vivian una anciana millonaria en el final de su vida.

La Narración se mueve entre el pasado de Niamh y el presente de Molly

Dicho esto, ¿Me gustó?

Acá tengo que detenerme, empecé a escribir esta reseña cerca del 60% del libro aún inacabado y principalmente hablaba de la oportunidad que había desechado la autora para lograr transmitir la precariedad y tristeza en la vida de los huérfanos del tren y sellaba el relato con 3 estrellas, pero conforme seguía leyendo se fue formando una idea y logré olvidar lo que no había sentido y me concentré en lo que sí sentí al terminar el libro.

Creo que la autora no buscaba conmoverme, no buscaba hacerme llorar con desesperación y angustia, simplemente quería contar una historia lo más realista posible sin exagerar la nota en los detalles escabrosos, sin traspasar al lector una carga emocional que lo abrumara. Y lo consigue, la historia se desenvuelve ágilmente las páginas pasan sin que las cuentes, hay partes del libro que te sorprenden, otras que te entristecen y algunas que como en la vida te alegran.

PERO EN TODO MOMENTO EL RELATO NOS RECUERDA QUE LA VIDA NO SIEMPRE ES COMO ESPERAMOS Y QUE NOS SORPRENDERÁ A CADA MOMENTO, lo queramos o no.

Porque me gustó la historia, porque me gustó la forma en que está narrada, porque los cliché de cuento de hadas no estan por ningun lado así como no lo están en la vida, porque el final me encantó, le doy 4 de 5 estrellas.

Recomendable: SI
Releible: NO
Inspirador: NO
Bien Escrito: SI

I REALLY enjoyed this book. I had never heard of the orphan train program before reading this, and I was in turn fascinated and appalled. The resiliency of the children who were part of it and their focus on the good really came through. I feel so fortunate to have grown up with a family and parents who cared about me.

I normally don't love books that hop between story lines or time periods, but this was very well done. I looked forward to finding out more of each of the story lines, and the ties between them.

I think the main reason why it took me so long to get into the story is the fact that the two books I read directly before this one were comical. It was really hard transferring myself back into drama, heartache, and pain. Nevertheless, it was a lovely book, and such a lovely story. A book I would definitely recommend.
I really liked the historical re-tellings mostly. I never knew that much about Irish history in the United States, but of course I knew that they faced a lot of heartache. And then the Native American's tales. I knew it was so full of tragedies but the picture became clearer and much more pronounced in my head.
Thank you, Christina!

I liked the way this story compares the life of an orphan in the 1920's-30's to modern day children in foster care. It's very interesting to consider how challenging it would be and the similarities in the emotional scars that the children would have.

I felt a little bummer out while reading this book, but I still consider it a good read.

I really enjoyed this one. An interesting and uplifting, but only moderately smaltzy, effort.

LOVED this one!

I can't say I didn't like this book. I read it in less than 12 hours with few breaks. But, after some digesting, I feel the book was a little to neat and pretty. Everyone got their happy ending. Literally, everyone. (Well, except one person). But, anyway, for a book that seemed to harp that bad things happen to good people and sometimes people just get the worst in life, its pretty hard to believe that every character would have ended up with a happy ever after.

I thought this was an enjoyable read, although not one that will be a favorite of the year. I found the sections dealing with Vivian's life, her ride on the train, and her eventual reunion with Dutchy to be quite interesting. I thought Molly's life and situation, while taking up equal space in the book, to be less convincing. It seemed at times the author really WANTED Molly and Vivian's experiences to be similar, and so created situations for Molly that would liken her to the older woman. It just didn't feel quite as believable to me, and so I didn't feel as compelled to read during her sections of the novel. Overall, though, an interesting and entertaining read.

Probably more like a 3.5. I really enjoyed the story, but felt like the author tried to rapidly wrap it up at the end.

There are a few easy ways to tell if a person loves a story. Sometimes the reader will want to read the book again. Sometimes the reader will tell others about the story. Sometimes the reader will head online or to the library to find other books by the same author or on the same subject. Sometimes the reader will pass the book on to others.

I wanted to do all these things with this book. If you like historical fiction, if you like to read stories with strong emotional content, if you like characters who stay with you, then read this book.

This was a nice quick read. The characters seemed straight out of central casting - not a lot of depth and fairly stereotypical. That said, I finished the book in a weekend and found myself engrossed in the story. The parallels between orphan train passengers of the early twentieth century and contemporary foster kids added depth.