The Accidental Orphan

by Constance Horne

Eleven-year-old Ellen finds herself wrongly accused of stealing while selling flowers on the Liverpool docks. In her escape she becomes a stowaway aboard a steamship bound for Canada, an unwilling member of a band of orphans headed for new families on the Prairies. Adopted by the Aitkens, a family on a Manitoba homestead, she soon lands herself at the centre of a number of calamities, unexpectedly learning about rural life in the New World and the value of family ties, both those forged in blood and those forged in trust.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1998

Reviews

[CraftyChara · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Laurie Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eleven-year-old Ellen is selling flowers at the docks in Liverpool when she is suddenly falsely accused of stealing. Taking refuge on a ship among a group of orphans headed for the new world, she is unable to extricate herself before it sets sail. Now she is bound for Canada!

Ellen lost her parents years before but she is not an orphan, she hastens to explain to anyone who will listen. She has an uncle and he must be frantic that she hasn’t returned home. The child minder in charge of the orphans promises to send a wire to her uncle, but they will have to wait until they land in Canada.

Alas her uncle cannot be located. There is nothing for it, but to farm her out to one of the families willing to take on an orphan, which is how she ends up with the Aitkin family on a farm on Canada’s vast prairie. The Aitkins are kind people who are sympathetic to her situation. They, too, send a message to her uncle in England. While she awaits his response, she must earn her keep, working from sun up until sundown with the rest of the family.

The story is well-written, an easy read. Ellen learns that family ties go deeper than blood. But the book left no lasting impression upon me. While Ellen works through a number of emotions—feelings of abandonment, not belonging, a growing affection for her adopted family—I never felt any depth of emotion, no tug on my heartstrings. And I am a real softy when it comes to affairs of the heart. That said, it is a suitable light read for any middle grade reader.

[Nisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Accidental Orphan is about Ellen, an 11-year-old who is accused of theft and hides on a ship full of orphans bound for Canada. It's set in the something'th century. This is a pretty good book. Neither the plot or the writing were boring.
This is a good passage:
The lid popped up and a little black and white kitten poked its head out and tried to scramble out of the basket. Ellen laughed aloud and and caught the tiny creature in both hands. It escaped and ran up her arm, across her back and perched on the other shoulder. It sniffed her cheek, pawed at her hair and started down her arm. Then it changed its mind, came back and settled snugly into the hollow at the base of her neck. Ellen felt the soft fur against her cheek and listened to the tiny purr.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great! Shows alot of history.