writersrelief's review against another edition
4.0
In the first half of the 19th century, immigrants flooded our eastern shores. The population of New York City went from 33,000 in 1790 to more than 500,000; by 1890 it was close to 1.5 million. And it was estimated that more than 3,000 homeless children were wandering the streets. In an effort to correct this situation and clean up the most wretched areas like Five Points, the city created the Children’s Aid Society. This historic novel relates how one man, Charles Loring Brace, helped create and organize the transportation of tens of thousands of impoverished, abandoned children, distributing them across the entire country. His idealized program was supposed to assist the children in becoming productive members of society. The problem with his plan was little or no follow-up on the placements and abysmal record keeping. O’Connor provides insight into how and why so many children were homeless. He explains how the culture of that era drove the efforts to create this questionable practice, and why it was generally accepted by the public. If you enjoy reading about history, ORPHAN TRAINS is a great look-back into a little-known chapter of our early days.
tora76's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting subject matter but not that interesting a book.
jodilynclayton's review
3.0
This book alternated between so sloooow and really interesting. Which is why it took so long for me to read it! I also found O'Connor's ambivalence somewhat amusing. He never really could decide whether he admired Charles Brace or found him stupid and naive. I came away admiring Brace. He may have had many missteps along the way, but at least he did SOMETHING. It annoys me when people attack someone for their actions when they themselves do nothing to help society. I also came away admiring my sister who cares for a foster child more than ever and wanting to help the orphans of our day somehow. O'Conner's last chapter discussed the foster care system of our day and it was terribly sad, but at the same time, I'm glad he added it. Now who's being ambivalent? :-)
More...