Orphan Train: A Novel cover art

Orphan Train: A Novel

A Novel

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Orphan Train: A Novel

By: Christina Baker Kline
Narrated by: Jessica Almasy, Suzanne Toren
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About this listen

Orphan Train is a gripping story of friendship and second chances from Christina Baker Kline, author of Bird in Hand and The Way Life Should Be.

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 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.

©2013 Christina Baker Kline (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Orphan Adoption Feel-Good Fostering American History

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Critic reviews

“Kline's vibrant, sophisticated language comes alive with the sparkling talents of narrators Jessica Almasy and Suzanne Toren. Their finely paced, enthusiastic portrayals of the charming main characters quickly capture the listener.” ( AudioFile)
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It is life story told marvellously well via flash backs that link the most unlikely fostered teenagers contemporary issues' spanning eight decades! A page turner without doubt.

Surprisingly gripping!

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loved this from start to finish. strong story, strong characters and narrated very well.

fantastic

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This is a lovely sentimental story about two orphaned women who come to see their difficult journeys as meaningful. No surprises really, but satisfying just the same.

Sentimental

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I almost gave up on this book but it was a good story so I stuck with it but I found the narrator very annoying with a poor attempt at an Irish accent.

Good story, annoying narration

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What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The history - I want to find out more facts on the children who experienced this and inspired the story.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

No it was too fast and dismissive of the story being told. Not completely the fault of the narrator as the writing style is somewhat dismissive too.

Any additional comments?

I was really looking forward to reading this but it turned out to be a lightweight, flat novel. Yes, I know it's fiction but still there was a great opportunity to share this hidden slice of social history when orphan children were placed with completely unsuitable families, albeit by authorities with the best of intentions.

Told from two time periods the story follows the 1920/30 orphan train experiences of Niamh (Irish born immigrant to the US), alongside a modern day foster care child, Molly. Molly is clearing out the loft of Viviene in punishment for a theft and this is how the two time strands link together. I'm fine with this parallel approach but the novel jumped frequently between the two times which I found distracting.

My biggest issue is the lack of emotion I felt, even when we hear about the terrible hardships Niamh experienced. I think the issue was the child point of view which meant there wasn't much depth to the reflection. The narrative also had a quality to it like someone is telling you a story at a party but it goes on and on without any respite.

Added to this was the fast paced, almost breathless narration. I tried to slow it down but it didn't work well. The narration was almost dismissive of the events she was telling the reader about.

In terms of the experiences of these children the novel has raised my interest and I would certainly seek out more on this topic. I did feel that Niamh seemed to have every disaster befall her, which may or may not be realistic. It isn't a bad novel per se, it just could've been done differently which would have increased my enjoyment.

Average slice of history

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I loved this, so beautifully descriptive and it touched my heart. The sad thing I didn’t like, was how some of the female characters were portrayed, particularly in relation to the young people in their care. Resentful and spiteful. That aside the portrayal of humans being resilient in the most awful of circumstances, was powerful and encouraging. The auteur captured the horrors as well as the beauty in the everyday lives of her characters. Thank you.

Marvellous capturing of lives.

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Great story. The Irish accent was atrocious, I wasn't sure if I could listen to it at times but it does pass. overall a great story

great story

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Laughter, tears, anger ... this wonderful story brings up beautiful emotions, a must read to bring us all back to bring grateful for life

Beautiful life story

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I loved this book! Wonderfully written and the performance was great! I couldn't stop listening. So easy to envision all the places and characters. Such a wonderful, heartbreaking story with a very emotional ending. I highly recommend

Wonderful!

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I chose the book as it was on the New York bestseller list. I really enjoyed the way the story developed and especially Niamh/Vivienne's story. I did not particularly enjoy the 2011 part with Molly in it. I had no real interest in her but could see it was part of the setup of the story. It was really hard to read how orphan children were treated and how their lives were so disrupted or aided depending on who took them in. It makes you realise how lucky life is not to have had such experiences in it. I thought the narrative was very good and aided delivery of the story. I would highly recommend it.

Lovely easy read

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