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callie_w's review against another edition
- 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.
gonnicole's review against another edition
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
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!
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!
websterworks's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
bellascho's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Xenophobia
Minor: Addiction and Pregnancy
lucyvf's review against another edition
4.0
Two parallel stories of girls in the foster care system, generations apart. Beautiful story.
taraschn's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
what_katie_read_in_ca's review against another edition
5.0
3rd Book Club book. A tearjerker and I loved it!
blueberry31's review against another edition
1.0
Too many things disappointed me about this book, though to be fair the story wasn't all bad.
The chapters alternate between present time and past. In the present we mainly follow Molly, a troubled teen who has been going from one foster family to another. In the past we follow Niamh, whose family hopped on a boat from Ireland to the United States in hope of a better life. Now here's the thing: the story set in the past is not so bad, but the story set in the present... FACEPALM.
All the stereotypes were killing me: Molly the troubled teenager is a goth with a nose ring (the author's way of insisting that "Hey guys she really IS TROUBLED. Hey look she even has black hair with a strand of white! SHE WEARS A NOSE RING". The foster mom is (of course) an evil witch. We literally don't know anything about her except that she's a big meanie. The boyfriend is completely irrelevant, useless and cheesy. The mother of the boyfriend is a total cliché. The dialogue is cringe-worthy. The scenes that were set in Molly's classroom had me going "UGH COME ON REALLY". All the bullshit was there: the teacher with a heart of gold who sees potential in the troubled teen girl, and challenges her to speak up about her opinion on a book in front of the whole class, to let her light shine through. REALLY? One amazing extract: "recently Molly had realized she actually liked studying"... THOUGHT NO TEENAGER EVER.
The story set in the past was really good at first, and then it got "typical sad life stuff" on me. Try this: take a pen and paper out, make a list of all the shittiest things that could happen to an orphan. There. That's the plot (give or take a few things). Not to say that a book shouldn't tell a sad story, it's just that in this case... everything is so predictable and sounds so fake.
By the end I was literally rolling my eyes as far back as they could go. Nothing in this plot is believable. Every situation happens based on luck or coincidence. The characters are annoying. It's a shame because the topic could have been super interesting: I had no clue Orphan Trains were a thing back then, so I learned something. But past this discovery the book becomes a huge disappointment: cheesy and superficial. Facepalm.
The chapters alternate between present time and past. In the present we mainly follow Molly, a troubled teen who has been going from one foster family to another. In the past we follow Niamh, whose family hopped on a boat from Ireland to the United States in hope of a better life. Now here's the thing: the story set in the past is not so bad, but the story set in the present... FACEPALM.
All the stereotypes were killing me: Molly the troubled teenager is a goth with a nose ring (the author's way of insisting that "Hey guys she really IS TROUBLED. Hey look she even has black hair with a strand of white! SHE WEARS A NOSE RING". The foster mom is (of course) an evil witch. We literally don't know anything about her except that she's a big meanie. The boyfriend is completely irrelevant, useless and cheesy. The mother of the boyfriend is a total cliché. The dialogue is cringe-worthy. The scenes that were set in Molly's classroom had me going "UGH COME ON REALLY". All the bullshit was there: the teacher with a heart of gold who sees potential in the troubled teen girl, and challenges her to speak up about her opinion on a book in front of the whole class, to let her light shine through. REALLY? One amazing extract: "recently Molly had realized she actually liked studying"... THOUGHT NO TEENAGER EVER.
The story set in the past was really good at first, and then it got "typical sad life stuff" on me. Try this: take a pen and paper out, make a list of all the shittiest things that could happen to an orphan. There. That's the plot (give or take a few things). Not to say that a book shouldn't tell a sad story, it's just that in this case... everything is so predictable and sounds so fake.
By the end I was literally rolling my eyes as far back as they could go. Nothing in this plot is believable. Every situation happens based on luck or coincidence. The characters are annoying. It's a shame because the topic could have been super interesting: I had no clue Orphan Trains were a thing back then, so I learned something. But past this discovery the book becomes a huge disappointment: cheesy and superficial. Facepalm.