From Christina Baker Kline comes a novel about two women: one about to age out of the foster care system, the other 90 years old and carrying both a tremendous secret and a story of a life formed by a part of American history almost entirely forgotten: the Orphan Trains.
Molly Ayer has one last chance, and she knows it. Close to being kicked out of her foster home - just months from turning 18 and aging out of the system - Molly should be grateful that her boyfriend found her a community service project: helping an old lady clean out her home. Molly can't help but think that the 50 hours will be tedious, but at least they'll keep her out of juvie, and right now that's all she cares about.
Ninety-one-year-old Vivian Daly has lived a quiet life on the coast of Maine for decades. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are keys to a turbulent past. As she and Vivian unpack her possessions and memories, Molly is about to discover that Vivian's story is a piece of America's tumultuous history: the tale of a young Irish immigrant, orphaned in New York City and put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destiny would be determined by luck and chance. As Molly digs deeper into this compelling coming of age story, she finds surprising parallels in her own experience as a Penobscot Indian - and Molly realizes that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life.
Rich in detail and epic in scope, Orphan Train is a powerful work of historical fiction about upheaval and resilience, second chances, unexpected friendships, and the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are.
The runaway bestseller that has swept the nation, with more than one million copies sold
Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by luck and chance.
This is the story of one such child.
As a young Irish immigrant, Vivian Daly was sent by rail from New York City to an uncertain future a world away. Returning east later in life, Vivian leads a quiet, peaceful existence on the coast of Maine. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are reminders of a turbulent past.
Seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer knows that a community-service position helping an elderly widow clean out her attic is the only thing keeping her out of juvenile hall. But as Molly helps Vivian sort through her keepsakes and possessions, she discovers that she and Vivian aren't as different as they appear. A Penobscot Indian who has spent her youth in and out of foster homes, Molly is also an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past.
Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota, Orphan Train is a powerful tale of upheaval and resilience, second chances, and unexpected friendship.
“One of the most intriguing, tender novels of 2013...This is a warm, satisfying, and inspirational story.”
