Orphan Train

A Novel

By: Christina Baker Kline

Narrated by: Jessica Almasy, Suzanne Toren

Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Critic reviews

“The narrator of Orphan Train, Jessica Almasy, does an incredible read. Listening to Almasy’s rendition of this book - so vivid and emotional - was as much fun as getting swept away by an Oscar-winning movie.” (Parents.com)

"Absorbing...a heartfelt page-turner about two women finding a sense of home.... Kline lets us live the characters’ experiences vividly through their skin.... The growth from instinct to conscious understanding to partnership between the two is the foundation for a moving tale." ( Publishers Weekly)

“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)

Hold Out!

I wasn't sure about this book but I wanted something different. It definitely delivered! Everything was enjoyable- from the characters to the story line to the performance.

loved it!

Loved everything about this book! I hated to see it end. Very descriptive storytelling made me feel as though I was right there with the characters.

Great Story Telling

A charming story told by excellent narrators!
Christina Kline’s writing is compelling, taking the reader from joy to sadness and back again...many times I had to rewind just to enjoy the pleasures of her descriptions once more. Ordered the book so I could underline some of my favorite passages to share with my writing group. A lesson in excellent story telling!

Great book, good read, the true heart is in 1922

This was a great read/listen. It is a well written book which carefully weaves between the two points in time and gradually building the story.

I personally enjoyed the older story line more than I enjoyed the modern day one with Molly, although I warmed to Molly further into the book I felt at the beginning like her character and the Jack character was a little underdeveloped.

The meat of the book though is about the Orphan train itself and the journey of these children and that was excellently written. I connected all the way through and couldnt put those sections down. It took me on a great journey and I felt that I was listening to someone tell me a true account of their life.

Well worth listening/reading - I would usually pick up a physical book but my new baby doesnt allow for that so making baby puree whilst listening is a great compromise. I would say the reader of the book is good but her male voices are a little growly (not sure thats a word apologies) :)

Enjoy!

A Must Read

Loved this book so much!!! Never a dull moment!!! Had me tearing up in the end

Great historical work

This book is about true stories of children shipped bt trains across the USin the early part of the last century. This is a historical novel. They were sent out for adoption and then you had horrific things these children experienced in the early runs. This book is beautifully written emotional tour into the subject of adoption. This is a history for a lot of us. The characters are believable and realistic. Jessica Almay did a great job on narration. I reccommend this book.

Beautifully Told Story

When you Google "Orphan Train stories" this is the blurb that pops up "From 1854 to 1929 an estimated 250,000 orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children were placed throughout the United States and Canada during the Orphan Train Movement. When the orphan train movement began, it was estimated that 30,000 abandoned children were living on the streets of New York City."

I didn't realize that there was really an orphan train that wasn't part of the movement in Europe to save children in war torn areas. I didn't know that the United States had its own orphan train history. This book is fiction, it's got very believable stories about how the main character, Neive, is treated like labor and tossed aside when she no longer suits the purpose the family took her in for. I'm sure there are tons of stories out there, true stories about the orphans from the trains that don't end as nicely as this story does.

There's a couple areas in the story that might be a bit too mature for kids to listen to but for the most part it is pretty family friendly. There's very little foul language in the book but there are a couple of sexually suggestive scenes including attempted rape. The book would most likely start a conversation about the reality of life for children during this period in American history and how even though the agencies that put the children on the trains thought they were doing something good for the children in some situations were making the lives of the children much worse.

I wasn't totally thrilled with the ending. Right up until the last couple of chapters of the book I was really loving the story, it was only how neatly the end wrapped up that I wasn't happy with. I found the story hard to put down, I wanted to listen straight through from the first chapter.

I want this story to go on forever

this story had everything I could imagine wanting in a story. I loved the two main characters and world have loved for the story to continue!!

Outstanding story

Loved the book. I actually looked forward to sitting in traffic so I could listen to the boom

LOVED IT!

Really sad to know what most of these children endured. . . somebody's good intention hijacked. Loved the narrators and the lovely character development, as well as the parallels of their two lives.