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2013

Format:	Book
Author:	Kline, Christina Baker, 1964-
Title:	Orphan train : a novel / Christina Baker Kline.
Edition:	1st ed.
Publisher, Date:	New York : William Morrow, c2013.
Description:	278 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.
Summary:	"Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to 'aging out' out of the foster care system. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse.... As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren't as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance. Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life--answers that will ultimately free them both. Rich in detail and epic in scope, Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are."--from publisher's description
Subjects:	Women -- Fiction. Orphan trains -- Fiction. Female friendship -- Fiction. Immigrant children -- Fiction. Indian foster children -- Fiction. Adoption -- Fiction.
LCCN:	2012027409
ISBN:	9780061950728 (pbk.) 0061950726 (pbk.) 9780062101204 (ebook) 006210120X (ebook)
OCLC:	795757353
System Availability:	28
# System items in:	28
# Local items:	2
# Local items in:	2
Current Holds:	0

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New York Times Review

Trust the tale, not the teller, D. H. Lawrence advised readers. But Kline doesn't trust her carefully researched and appalling story of 1920s orphans swept off the streets of New York and sent to the Midwest, where their foster families were subject to scant official supervision. To infuse her historical fiction with contemporary appeal, Kline has her protagonist, Niamh Power, an Irish immigrant who was just 9 when she lost her family in a tenement fire, look back on her life, at age 91, and tell her story to a 17-year-old Penobscot Indian, Molly Ayer, a ward of the state who suffers discrimination and mistreatment. Niamh's passage through three Minnesota families - the Byrnes, who exploit her; the Grotes, who abuse her; and the Nielsens, who are kind - is colloquial and engaging, but alternating chapters on Molly, the goth bad girl from Maine, are generic in characterization and crude in their parallels with Niamh.

Library Journal Review

Kline's latest novel (after Bird in Hand) weaves contemporary and historical fiction into a compelling story about loss, adaptability, and courage. Molly is a rebellious 17-year-old foster child sentenced to community service for stealing a copy of Jane Eyre. She finds a position cleaning out the attic of Vivian, an elderly woman in their coastal Maine town. As Molly sorts through old trunks and boxes, Vivian begins to share stories from her past. Born in County Galway, she immigrated to New York City in 1929. When her family perished in a tenement fire, she was packed off on one of the many orphan trains intended to bring children to Midwestern families who would care for them. Each orphan's lot was largely dependent on the luck of the draw. In this, Vivian's life parallels Molly's, and an unlikely friendship blossoms. VERDICT With compassion and delicacy Kline presents a little-known chapter of American history and draws comparisons with the modern-day foster care system. Her accessible, interesting novel will appeal to readers who enjoy the work of Sara Donati. [See Prepub Alert, 10/22/12.]-Christine Perkins, Bellingham P.L., WA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Kline's absorbing new novel (after Bird in the Hand) is a heartfelt page-turner about two women finding a sense of home. Seventeen-year-old Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer has spent most of her life in foster care. When she's caught stealing a copy of Jane Eyre from the library, in an effort to keep the peace with her stressed foster parents, she ends up cleaning out elderly Vivian Daly's attic. Molly learns that Vivian was herself an orphan, an Irish immigrant in New York who was put on the Orphan Train in the late 1920s and tossed from home to home in Minnesota. The growing connection leads Molly to dig deeper into Vivian's life, which allows Molly to discover her own potential and helps Vivian rediscover someone she believed had been lost to her forever. Chapters alternate between Vivian's struggle to find a safe home, both physically and emotionally, in early 20th-century Minnesota, and Molly's similar struggle in modern-day Maine. Kline lets us live the characters' experiences vividly through their skin, and even the use of present tense, which could distract, feels suited to this tale. The growth from instinct to conscious understanding to partnership between the two is the foundation for a moving tale. Agent: Beth Vesel, the Beth Vesel Literary Agency. (Apr. 2) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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