Review: "Orphan Train," by Christina Baker Kline

When teenaged Molly steals a copy of Jane Eyre from the public library, she's assigned 50 hours of community service to repay her debt to society. A product of foster care, Molly is on thin ice with her current foster parents, but her boyfriend pulls some strings to get her a job helping an elderly woman organize her attic. Molly is standoffish at first, because most teenagers don't want to spend their free time with 90 year olds! But Vivian Daly is not a senile old lady. In fact, her attic is full of reminders of her painful past. An orphan herself, Vivian, an Irish immigrant whose parents perished in an apartment fire, is sent on a train to the Midwest to be adopted out. Her experiences are less than stellar, with two different families who use and abuse her for work (she's 9 years old at this time). With help from a friendly teacher, Vivian finds herself right where she needs to be. The parallels between Molly's and Vivian's stories are a little forced and the ending seemed quite unbelievable, but overall I really enjoyed this story.

Mrs. Denney's Rating: ***1/2

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