Orphan Train

I thoroughly enjoyed Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline which mainly tells the story of the trains carrying orphans from New York to the west between 1854 and 1929 leaving these children along the way to an uncertain future.  This is a fictional story built around this history.  The story is told by 91-year-old Vivian to a teenage girl, Molly, as together they go through the boxes in Vivian's attic with a view to tidying them up, throwing things out.  However, there is a story in every box.  Vivian tells Molly about coming to New York as a child with her family from Ireland and the events in her life that found her travelling on an orphan train.  Notices were put up in towns on the train's route showing that children would be available to live with a family.  Some were lucky and found good homes, some did not.  Molly is interested to hear about Vivian's past which has some parallels with her own life.  Molly was convicted of theft and rather than going to juvenile detention she is doing "community service" helping Vivian organise her attic.  The author has researched her story well.  It is similar to the "forgotten children" in England who were shipped out for a "better" life in the Dominions.  This book was a pleasure to read. 5/5