New York Orphan

Tales of Flynn and Reilly, Book 1

By: Rosemary J. Kind

Narrated by: Lee Brophy

Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

From fleeing the Irish Potato Famine to losing his parents on the ship to New York, seven-year-old Daniel Flynn knows about adversity. As Daniel sings the songs of home to earn pennies for food, pickpocket Thomas Reilly becomes his ally and friend until he, too, is cast out onto the street. A destitute refugee in a foreign land, Daniel, together with Thomas and his sister, Molly, are swept up by the Orphan Train Movement to find better lives with families across America.

For Daniel, will the dream prove elusive? How strong are bonds of loyalty when everything is at stake?

Based on real history, the strength of the characters in New York Orphan will move you with their desperate plight to survive.

©2017 Rosemary J. Kind (P)2019 Rosemary J. Kind

A Very Hard Life

This story drew me in from the beginning. A young boy of seven, Daniel Flynn, traveling with his parents from Ireland to America loses his parents during the travels. Once in America, he was lucky enough to run into Thomas Reilly who took him home to his ill mother and his sister, Molly. When Thomas and Molly's mother passes, they find themselves with no place to go and end up on an orphan train.

It was very interesting to see where these three young children ended up. Each living a different type of life. After being betrayed by Thomas, Daniel's life is full of difficulties. Molly, not knowing where the two boys are, goes in search of them with the help of her adoptive mother. Thomas, now an attorneys son, has changed his name to William and wants nothing to do with Molly or Daniel. With Daniel in jail, William has a change of heart. William, along with his father, comes to Daniels rescue and once again the three are reunited.

Rosemary J. Kind did a wonderful job in developing these characters and bringing strong emotions to her writing. While this is Book 1, it is also a good stand-alone book. Although the ending is predictable, it was very satisfying. I look forward to the next book.

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great peek into this historical time frame.

This audiobook sure brings out the plight of the Irish people. That it happened to kids so young just adds to the tragedy of that time. I highly recommend this audiobook to all. Now for the obligatory: "I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

wonderful

I loved this book...never a dull moment. Very good historical fiction and can't wait to start the next book in this series!

Heartbreaking portrayal of immigrant NY orphans

WHAT I LIKED MOST:
*Detailed character development and the complexity of how each person evolved throughout the story.
*Narration was excellent, taking the story to the next level, and giving the characters depth and life.
*Portrayal of the sad back story and heartbreaking plight of immigrant orphans trying to survive on the streets of NY.
*Depiction of the three very different life-changing situations the Irish orphans found themselves in and how they dealt with those circumstances.
*How the story ending was resolved.
*Learning about the good, bad, and misguided aspects of the Orphan Trains Movement, a supervised welfare program that transported homeless children from crowded eastern US cities to foster homes that were typically located in rural areas. 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.


WHAT I DID NOT PARTICULARLY ENJOY:
*No negatives worth mentioning!

DISCLAIMER: This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Orphan Train Historical Fiction

New York Orphan
: Rosemary J. Kind


This is a historical fiction, that follows three New York orphan children. They end up on orphan trains. Each one is dropped into different situations. Some are luckier than others. The story is well told. I found it difficult to stop listening. I found myself needing to know what was going to happen! This is book 1. I'm looking forward to a second book.




The narration was well done. The characters were well portrayed. Lee Brophy gave each character their own personality with voice.



I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Engaging and poignant

This trio of characters are strong and well drawn, but a picture of day-to-day life for them is not so fully developed. Still, the story is engaging and poignant.

Lee Brophy's performance is satisfactory with just a hint of the Irish apparent at times. He mispronounces a word here and there, but nothing overly distracting. His character voicing is distinctive enough to follow dialog successfully.

NOTE: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

One of the best books i've read in a while

I totally loved this book. It took me through the whole range of emotions. Near the end i was crying buckets. Such a moving wonderful story, with Characters you either loved or hated. I had a sleepless night because i just had to find out how the story ended.

I am sad it's come to an end.

The narration was wonderful and brought the story to life.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Wow, great start to a series!

I thought this sounded like it would be a good book and I was certainly right. It was everything I thought it would be..and more. The children were strong and wonderful survivors. Parts were sad and some of it even made me angry to hear but other parts of this story were heartwarming too. The narration was also very well done. I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

These kids have it rough

This is the first book I’ve read/listened to by this author and I would listen to another.
This story brings us the plights of four children. Daniel looses his parents on the ship from Ireland and gets taken in by a family once in New York. Things aren’t easy and the kids end up in another desperate situation. Eventually, they are put on the Orphan Train and each has a very different experience. We don’t get much background into the train itself, but the children’s circumstances are believable and true to historical accounts. There may have been good intentions behind the relocation of the orphans, but the follow through was often lacking in compassion.

This is the first book I’ve listened to by this narrator ( Lee Brophy ) and I would listen to another. He did well narrating the story. His style brings out the feeling of how Daniel resigns himself to his various situations.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

Wonderfully heartwarming tale!

This is an awesome book about a journey of a small boy from Ireland. He has many pitfalls and horrible things happen to him, but in the end, he prevails and his dreams come true! This tale has such a happy ending, you may find yourself rejoicing and grateful by the end of it. The narrator was quite good and was able to make the characters distinguishable by voice, making this book that much better. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a history buff or is just in need of a "feel good" story.
"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."