A review by serinde4books
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

5.0

This is my January BOTM read. The tale is told from two points of view. Molly Ayer, and almost 18 year old foster child. She is just months from "aging out" of the child welfare system, and close to being kicked out of her foster home, as a last ditch effort she takes on a community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her attic to avoid juvenile detention and homelessness.
Vivian Daly, the elderly lady, has lived a quiet life on the coast of Maine but her attic is full of her memories and her past, which was not always as quiet. As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly and Viviane forma remarkable friendship.
I really liked the book from the very start. Viviane had a really rough childhood, and it made me sad hat she was taken advantage of the way she was. I liked both characters Molly and Vivian, and I found the parallels in their lives fascinating. Parts of the book made really angry, especially when it came to the treatment Vivian received as a child.
The ending feel a little unfinished. But I think Kline did that to leave things up the reader's imagination about Molly and Viviane's future. I like to think it was a happy one, but I would have liked it to end a little more on the tidy side.

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