The Orphan Train

by Brent Ford

'Wilder Than The West' Bobby and Ella Kincade are orphaned after the vicious murder of their parents at the hands of the brutal McKenzie Gang, recently sprung from jail. As a resolute Bobby, teamed up with with old timer, Diggory, set off after the killers, Ella is placed at the mercy of an unscrupulous priest and soon finds herself aboard one of America's infamous, Orphan Trains. Bobby and Diggory, now accompanied by his reluctant, young schoolteacher, Miss Halfpenny, are faced with the critical dilemma of searching for his sister, or the continued quest of his parents' killer. And so, a desperate pursuit ensues across America's still untamed and perilous Wild West.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

428 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 20, 2013

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, but finally had to give up after several tries. Sophomoric writing, storyline and characters just could not hold my attention. Life's too short to waste on dull books.

[Annemarie Heisler · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were grammatical errors in the book that I found distracting. I begain to question why this was a best-selling novel recommended by my book club - and then I discovered that this was . I stopped reading the story at that point because it was not the Christina Baker Kline novel (which I did end up enjoying very much).
I didn't enjoy this one enough to finish, sadly.

[Morgan Stewart · Rating 1 out of 5]

I unfortunately could not get into this novel and stopped reading. The plot’s description was interesting enough to get me to start it, but I could not finish this novel due to its writing style.

[Kathie · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK, I picked this up thinking it was the one my book club members recommended. Turns out I got the wrong "Orphan Train". Oh my was it the wrong train. So after a few chapters I put it down and read Kristine Baker Kline's "Orphan Train". But just because I had it, after finishing Ms Kline's book, I came back to this one. Ms. Kline has done a much better job of crafting a story around the orphan train experience. In fact the orphan train plays such a minor part in this story that it almost makes you wonder if it's title is MEANT to trick you, but it was published a year before Kline's.
Anyway the writing is so-so, it's hard to care about most of the characters, the system is so obnoxious . It reads like a made-for-TV movie about child abuse in the old west. Even the sheriff seems like a bad guy. Where is "The Rifleman" when we need him?
I just hope you don't make the same mistake I did with these books. And come to find out there is yet another book out there with the title "The Orphan Train". Buyers beware!

[Shirley Steiniger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing story about a brother and sister who were made orphans by outlaw brothers. Story reminds me of the old west. The children had to find each other after being separated by a priest who would make "side" money from selling some of the orphans to people who didn't care about them other than the work they could get from them....basically they were slaves to their "new" families.
The children escape and get reunited with the only people who really cared about the brother and sister.
They end up killing the outlaw that killed their parents, they obtain the reward offered for the outlaw and return home to be adopted by those adults that saved them.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would prefer this to have been broken into at least two separate books, possibly three. There seemed to be too many plotlines jumping around. I found it a bit confusing. I liked the premise on the whole anyway.

[Jeri Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally enjoyed the story. Well written couldn't put it down. Must read.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book that kept me reading for hours.

[T.Ann Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

So,so

some what interesting.... some parts of the story were flat... probably will not remember this book for more than a week or so

[wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light reading.

this was not what I anticipated, I was expecting maybe a western type story but needed
much more meat on its bones

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The action was interesting but there wasn't much substance to the story.

[Isa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read. kept my interest

[Linda Bucher · Rating 2 out of 5]

I downloaded this book by mistake thinking it was Orphan Train by Kristina Baker Klein. It obviously was NOT that book. It wasn't even that great of a book plus I hated the ending.

[Kathleen DeStefano Pennington · Rating 1 out of 5]

Confusing from the Start

Story could have been told in 3 paragraphs. Instead, author adds confusion, unimportant facts which only take from the story.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anxiety

This book kept me in deep anxiety wondering if the main characters were going to live another day. The bad guys were horrible and it was nice to read a happy ending.

[Emily MacPherson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just not my Genre.