The story of two women who forge an unlikely friendship: a 91-year-old woman, an orphan-train rider in her youth and a teenage girl with a troubled
adolescence.
Nearly eighteen, Molly is months from "aging out" of her foster home, a family she has a rocky relationship with already. Faced with community service for stealing a library book she accepts a
position helping an elderly woman clean out her home.
Vivian has been living on the coast of Maine recently but in her attic, hidden in trunks, are the remains of her own turbulent youth. As Molly helps Vivian organize her
possessions and memories, she discovers that the two unlikely friends are not that different. Vivian was an Irish immigrant orphaned in New
York City, put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of
other children and placed for adoption.
As the two grow closer Molly helps Vivian answer questions about her own past, ultimately helping them both.
A good read but ultimately
disappointing. Orphan Train had so much potential for more - deeper
characters, more feeling and more of a history. I often felt like the
author was rushing to get through Vivian's life and left out so much
that could have enriched her story. I also had a hard time with the age
given to Vivian, she was an 8 or 9 year old girl but through much of the
book I identified her as an older teen, this was the authors
attempt to make her more mature, but something about it didn't
work. Molly, I found to be stereotypical and and with out a lot of
depth. The relationship between the two main characters I also felt was
not fully fleshed out - again sort of rushed. This book had so much
potential but just didn't get there.
This is a three star book, an easy entertaining read but it lacks so much.
What a lovely cover--too bad the rest of the book did not deliver. Glad I saw your follow on my twitter feed and love your site! -rebecca
ReplyDeletehttp://twoorthreelittlebirds.com
Thanks for following. Orphan Train was entertaining enough, just wish it had been meatier!
ReplyDelete