Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

Publisher: William Morrow
On Sale Date: April 2nd 2013
Pages: 278

Molly is a troubled teenager who lives with her foster parents Ralph and Dina. You would think they would care for her as they where her own parents, but this is not the case. Dina truly dislikes Molly, especially after is discovered that Molly stole a copy of Jane Eyre from the local library. Molly has to do community service as a punishment by social services to keep her out of juvie, and is signed up to help an elderly lady, Vivian, to help her clean and order her attic. During her hours at Vivian's house, she learns more about the turbulent past of her, which has some similarities to her own life.

Vivian was one of the children who rode on the Orphan Trains, which transported children from New York to the Midwest in 1929. Previously, she traveled on a ship from Ireland to Ellis Island with her parents and sister, in hope for a better life. But unfortunately, a fire in their apartment ended this short, and Vivian, who was then went by her own name Niamh, lost her family when she was just around 9 years old. As many orphans, she was put on the orphan train, gets a new name (Dorothy) and landed first as a worker in a garment factory, but when the crash of 1930 bankrupted the factory, she is again sent away to another family, where she is about to help the mother of a poor family Luckily she has school, where her friendly teacher helps her out after the father of the family abuses her, and finds a new place for her to live in the boarding house of Mrs. Murphy. There she finally feels welcome, but it is only for a short time as she is send out to live with the Nielsen family, who are looking for a girl to help in their general story. Slowly she starts to become their daughter, and her life is on track for a long time, she even takes over the store. Then she meets a guy from the Orphan Train, who becomes her husband, but again she has to face a great loss.

I had this book on my shelf for a year before I finally had time to read it the past weeks. This book blew me away. I love historical fiction, especially about New York and it's history with immigration through Ellis Island. The story of Niamh/Dorothy/Vivian is a rollercoaster. I was not familiar with the history of the Orphan Trains, and through this book I learned about it. Firsthand, you think that the children truly get into new loving families, that this wasn't always the case is shown in this story. Niamh lands from the poor conditions in Ireland only in more in America. Ofcourse the Children's Aid Society behind the train ride had the best intentions, but sometimes the individual helpers made wrong decisions, like when Niam is abused and the man from the organization accuses her of dramatizing it. It was just cruel to read how children at such a young aged where set off to work and landed in the wrong families, without any help or control to change their situation.

The plot of this book is very good, and the most unexpected things and events happen. 
This book made me very curious about the previous and newest books by Christina Baker Kline, which I certainly will check out in the future. I highly recommend reading this book!!