Reviews

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

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winnimartha's review against another edition

5.0

4.5 stars, but I'll round it up because I really can't fault Orphan Train for anything. Jumping between Molly and Vivian's stories, the novel keeps up a nice pace, and I had a hard time putting it down. It wasn't a life-changing read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

callie_w's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

1.0

I am sorry that a tree had to be cut down to provide the paper for this book. It is a waste of paper and time.

kmags's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

gonnicole's review against another edition

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4.0

I loved this book and it opened my eyes to a period of history I had never heard about. Thank you random lady at dance that recommended it.

kimreadz's review against another edition

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4.0

This book has received a lot of hype this year and has been getting great reviews, so it really caught my eye. I wanted to read it, but as with many books that get so much hype, I was prepared to be disappointed. Fortunately for me, that did NOT happen. This was a very quick (it took me 2 days, including the 4th of July holiday) and a very good read.

This is not what I usually think of as ‘historical fiction’ although it does have a strong historical component. I would think of this more as ‘period’ fiction since much of the story takes part in an earlier period, but it doesn’t really tell a lot of ‘history’ or weave historical events and people into the story.

The story is told from alternating viewpoints in alternating periods of history. Vivian is an elderly widow who was orphaned at a young age, with a lifetime full of memories stored in her addict. Molly is a contemporary teenage, half Indian and growing up in the foster care system, and is on the verge of going to ‘juvie’. The alternative to juvie is to do 50 hours of community service, which she agrees to do by helping Vivian clean out her attic.

Vivian and Molly have a lot in common, having both been orphaned at a young age and bounced from home to home. Because their stories were so similar, at the beginning of the book I had trouble keeping their stories straight and remembering who was orphaned under what circumstance. But I think this was the whole point, to demonstrate how much they had in common, and it straightened itself out pretty quickly. Once I got a few pages into the story, I had trouble putting the book down, and probably would not have if I hadn’t been interrupted by the Fourth of July festivities!

There were really some sad moments in the story, and some frustrating moments, particularly in Vivian’s story. There were a couple of big twists near the end that added to the sadness and made you wonder about the ‘could have beens’. I had never heard about the orphan trains, so this was a great introduction. It is also an interesting way to compare the ‘orphan train’ system to the foster system of today, and to consider how much things may have improved and how much more is still needed. I really enjoyed this story and was sad to have to leave the characters behind!

My Rating: ★★★★1/2 -- 4-1/2 Stars

SOURCE: I received a copy of this book through TLC Book Tours in return for an honest review!