Orphan Train (4)

ORPHAN TRAIN by Christina Baker Kline

Since this is my first official post, I feel that I should set up a sort of system. Besides giving you a small synopsis of the book (without spoilers or endings of course!) and my personal opinion about it, I also need to have some sort of a rating system.

I thought about it and decided to give each book a rating between 1 and 6. This may adapt over time, but I think it will work for now.

RATING SYSTEM

1 – I did not like the book at all.

2 – It was decent, but I would not recommend it.
3 – It was an enjoyable read.
4 – It was a very good book. I would recommend it.
5 – It was an excellent book! Must read!
6 – I will buy this book for my personal collection. Must read.

Now, I know six might seem a bit redundant, but like I said in my last post, I don’t buy books unless I love them. If I can’t picture myself reading the book more than once, I will not buy it for my collection. That is not to say that a “5” rating is anything to sneeze at. (The only exception to the “buying” rule is that I do allow myself to buy each of my Book Club books, which is once a month. It’s a special treat.)

Also, you will probably not see many 1s or 2s because, as I also said earlier, in most cases I give myself permission to quit a book if I am not enjoying it.

Now for the good stuff…

“ORPHAN TRAIN” SYNOPSIS

This book is about two women, Molly and Vivian, and how their lives interweave. Molly is a 17-year old orphan and Vivian is a 90-year old former orphan. The book goes back and forth focusing on their lives one at a time, chapter by chapter. Most chapters focus on Vivian and her life growing up as an orphan back during the Great Depression. Molly’s chapters are kind of in place to knit the story together and, of course, finally in the end we see how their lives ultimately come to impact one another. Quite a few surprises along the way and, though sad at times, overall an uplifting read.

STATS

Pages:                       273

Published Year:      2013 
Personal Rating:     4 (of 6)
Type:                         Library, Paperback

THOUGHTS

During the course of this book, I was sure I was going to give it a 3, then a 3.5 and finally I decided on a 4. I will not go so far as to say it is a must-read, but I would highly recommend it. I enjoyed it very much and it was a book I was sad to put down.

First of all I have to say that, while this is a fictional story, it is based on historical events. From 1854 to 1929 (75 years) the government ran a program called The Children’s Aid Society that gathered young New York City orphans, put them all on a train and drove them off to the countryside for an auction (of sorts). These children would stand in line on a small, make-shift stage and men and women would come to choose the children they wanted. There were no background checks and very little paperwork. While a few children were adopted into loving homes, mostly the infants, the majority of the children were taken only for labor – boys for hard farm work and girls for child care and household work. Many of these children were not properly cared for and were not treated as “part of the family.” Some were beaten and abused. The character of Vivian is one of these children. They call themselves “train riders” and you can find out tons more information by Googling them. They even have annual reunions, although, of the more than 200,000 orphans involved in this program, there are very few still alive today and all of them are over ninety-years old.

Vivian’s story was so captivating and, although sad, you really root for her the whole book. I don’t want to say Molly’s story is weaker, but Vivian is definitely the star of the book. The way things come together in the end, both of Vivian’s history and of the entire book, is very satisfying and ultimately uplifting. I very much enjoyed this book.

PERSONAL NOTE

Today was my last day of my first year of interpreting school! It has been a hard year, but I have survived! Only one year to go!

I’ve already started my new book and will write again soon. Looking forward to a bit of rest and no homework.

ADDITIONALLY

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Thank you for reading!