Orphan Train Girl: An Adaptation for Young Readers of the #1 New York Times Bestseller about the Bond Between Two Generations of Orphans

by Christina Baker Kline

This young readers’ edition of Christina Baker Kline’s #1 New York Times bestselling novel Orphan Train follows a twelve-year-old foster girl who forms an unlikely bond with a ninety-one-year old woman. This paperback Molly Ayer has been in foster care since she was eight years old. Most of the time, Molly knows it’s her attitude that’s the problem, but after being shipped from one family to another, she’s had her fair share of adults treating her like an inconvenience. So when Molly’s forced to help a wealthy elderly woman clean out her attic for community service, Molly is wary. But from the moment they meet, Molly realizes that Vivian isn’t like any of the adults she’s encountered before. Vivian asks Molly questions about her life and actually listens to the answers. Soon Molly sees they have more in common than she thought. Vivian was an orphan, too—an Irish immigrant to New York City who was put on a so-called “orphan train” to the Midwest with hundreds of other children—and she can understand, better than anyone else, the emotional binds that have been making Molly’s life so hard. Together, they not only clear boxes of past mementos from Vivian’s attic, but forge a path of friendship, forgiveness, and new beginnings.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Book Club

240 pages, Paperback

First published May 2, 2017

About the author

A #1 New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including The Exiles, Orphan Train, and A Piece of the World, Christina Baker Kline is published in 40 countries. Her novels have received the New England Prize for Fiction, the Maine Literary Award, and a Barnes & Noble Discover Award, among other prizes, and have been chosen by hundreds of communities, universities and schools as “One Book, One Read” selections. Her essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in publications such as the New York Times and the NYT Book Review, the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle, LitHub, Psychology Today, Poets & Writers, and Salon.

Born in England and raised in the American South and Maine, Kline is a graduate of Yale (B.A.), Cambridge (M.A.) and the University of Virginia (M.F.A.), where she was a Hoyns Fellow in Fiction Writing. A resident of New York City and Southwest Harbor, Maine, she serves on the advisory boards of the Center for Fiction (NY), the Jesup Library (Bar Harbor, ME), the Montclair Literary Festival (NJ), the Kauai Writers Festival (HI), and Roots & Wings (NJ), and on the gala committees of Poets & Writers (NY), The Authors Guild (NY) and Friends of Acadia (ME). She is an Artist-Mentor for StudioDuke at Duke University and the BookEnds program at Stony Brook University.

Reviews

[_.eameli · Rating 5 out of 5]

مردم همیشه اون چیزی رو که بهش احتیاج داریم به ما نمیدن.گاهی نمی‌خوان این کار رو انجام بدن و گاهی هم فقط نمی تونن انجام بدن.
این کتاب انقدر که قشنگ بود نمیدونم چجوری براتون توصیفش کنم،وقتی که داشتم این کتاب رو می خوندم انقدر بهم آرامش داد که به مامانم گفتم باید حتما این کتاب بخونی تا احساس من راجبش درک کنی.
دوتا داستان داخل یک کتاب بود،یکیش مربوطه به سال ۱۹۲۰بود در مورد دختری به نام نور که در یه آتش سوزی کل خانواده شو از دست میده؛اون یکی داستان مربوط به زمان حال بود در مورد دختری به نام مالی که مجبوره به خاطر خطایی که کرده تو یه خونه یه خانم پیر کار کنه(خدمات اجتماعی بهش میگن)حالا این دو تا داستان یک جورایی به هم ربط دارند.
{این کتاب من نمایشگاه کتاب امسال خریدم و راضی بودم محشر بودش}

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Told from the POV of Molly (present day sixth grader) and Vivian (orphan from 1929), it's relatable and engaging throughout.

Full review at LucyKnowsThings.com.

[Hossein · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب در دو داستان موازی، یکی مربوط به سال 1929 و دیگری در زمان حاضر روایت می‌شود. هرکدام از این دو داستانِ موازی، روایتِ مواجهه یک دختر یتیم با زندگی و آدم‌هاست. یکجاهایی آنقدر غمگین‌کننده بود که اگر کمی بیشتر ادامه پیدا می‌کرد، اشکم را در می‌آورد.
با اینحال، ریتم و اتفاقات اواخر داستان، اصلا با بقیه کتاب نمی‌خواند. دلم می‌‌خواست داستان همانقدر غم‌انگیز ادامه پیدا کند.
پ.ن.: هیچ معلوم نیست که مترجم با خودش چه فکری کرده که اسم اصلی کتاب، قطار یتیمان را تغییر داده به هیزم‌های خیس.

[Kathy Mathey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is what I love about reading ~ still learning after all these years. The topic of "orphan trains" (1854-1929) is my latest historical obsession.

[Zari.Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

در این کتاب دو روایت داریم
یک روایت از دختری ایرلندی به نام"نیو" در سال ۱۹۲۰ هست که خانواده اش رو در یک آتش سوزی از دست میده و مجبوره بره یتیم خونه
و روایت دوم هم از سوی دختری به نام "مالی" در زمان حال هست که اون هم مادرش دیگه توانایی نگه داشتنش رو نداره و مجبوره پیش یه پدر و مادرخونده زندگی کنه و این دو روایت یه در یک جایی به هم متصل میشن:)
یه کمی نسبت به باقی کتاب های رئال،کسل کننده و یکنواخت بود.در کل خیلی نچسبید بهم☹️

[Kris (My Novelesque Life)]

DNF @5%

I read the original novel for my book club (and I may have been the one that nominated it) and rated it 3 STARS. Most in my book club liked it more than me rating it a bit higher. So you may ask why I requested this copy. I was interested in seeing how the young adult edition was adapted. If reading it from a young adult audience would add to my experience. Unfortunately, I could not read beyond a chapter as this was not a book I can reread.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

[PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 STARS

This middle grade adaptation of ORPHAN TRAIN GIRL tells parallel stories of Molly, a present day foster child and Vivian, the elderly woman she’s helping who was adopted off the Orphan Train, after several failed placements.

I read and enjoyed the adult version of ORPHAN TRAIN GIRL years ago, too long to remember how close the MG story stays to the original story. When I was a kid I saw a tv movie about the Orphan Train. I think today’s children can benefit from knowing more about the subject as well as present day foster care.

I would have preferred the hopeful ending had more closure, which is the only criticism I have for ORPHAN TRAIN GIRL.

[Emery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my most favorite book of all time!!!

[Noninuna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told in 2 timelines, we follow Molly in the present day, whom just got punished to do community service for her wrong doing and Niamah in the late 1920's (if my memory didnt failed me), an immigrant child whom just turns into an orphan. Orphan train children fascinated me since I read about it in Children of the Great Depression.

I really, really like this young adult version. It was pretty obvious the story was adjusted to fit the 'young adult' category. Definitely going to read the original adult version of the novel!

[Tatiana Maroney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the book was great. I liked how Christina Baker Kline did Vivian's story and Molly's. The book was well written with good word choice and had great descriptions. I recomend this book to people that are tweens and teenagers. Thumb up to Christina!!!!

[Huy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Đọc cũng tạm, cung cấp thêm kiến thức về Chuyến tàu mồ côi nhưng viết chán quá, đọc ngáp lên ngáp xuống, tình tiết thì quá ư dễ đoán và sáo.

[Abby VanderMeeden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only reason it’s not 5 stars is because I started it before camp and just came back to it, so I lost some of the plot in the time. But!!! It was historical and special all the same!! Thank you Starkville Public Library and Kate Yelverton for this book💖

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely, engaging read. I have no complaints, and I'll recommend this to most middle school girls.

[Tyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fetița din trenul orfanilor este o carte profund impresionantă și foarte emoționantă despre supraviețuire și adaptare, despre a nu-ți pierde speranța nici în cele grele momente.

Recenzia mea:

https://www.delicateseliterare.ro/fet...

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: “Well,” Jack’s mom says from the driver’s seat. “This is it.”

Premise/plot: Molly, our contemporary heroine, is in foster care. She’s a young teen girl with defenses in place, a definite “bad” attitude as far as most adults are concerned. But Vivian, our senior heroine, isn’t most adults. She knows what it’s like to be an orphan, to be bounced around from home to home, unwanted and easily blamed, prone to being misunderstood. She came with her family from Ireland. Her family perished in a fire. She soon found herself on a west bound orphan train heading to the Midwest. Both stories unfold as the two clean up an attic.

My thoughts: At first I was impatient with this one. I fell so hard for Niamh-Dorothy-Vivian’s story that I didn’t want to be bothered with the contemporary story. Then I realized that some things haven’t changed all that much. Molly’s experiences in foster care aren’t all that different from Vivian’s on the orphan train and perhaps more importantly Molly’s story realistically represents some modern foster kids. There certainly isn’t one universal experience for the foster care experience, but some kids do get bounced around, moved around, rejected, face criticism, bullying, and even abuse. Some kids are wanted and adopted. Some find the happily ever after dream with a caring family. But many don’t. Holding onto hope when you could just as easily age up out of the system without experiencing unconditional love and a sense of belonging can be tough. Everyone needs to feel seen, loved, known. Molly isn’t—at least at the start of this one. Vivian and Molly connecting felt magical.

[Kia.8484 · Rating 5 out of 5]

رمانی شیرین و دوست داشتنی
اگه بعد چند وقت دلتون یه رمان رئال ساده با حس خوب خواست هیزم های خیس پیشنهاد عالی هست.

[Ava · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a slow start but I ended up really liking it! I enjoyed the historical sections more than the modern day ones.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this quick read about the orphan train children, something I'd never known about. The author, Christina Baker Kline, creates a story about a woman in her 90's and a young girl, who have in common the fact that they've both been orphans.

The story jumps in time from present day and Molly Ayer's story, to 1929 with the story of Dorothy (whose name was changed from her original name). Molly gets in trouble for trying to steal a library book so she has to serve community hours. The job she ends up getting to serve her hours is with an elderly woman named Vivian. The job that Molly has is to clean out Vivian's attic from some old boxes and things that Vivian had been storing.

As Molly cleans and Vivian supervises her and tells her what to do with each item, Vivian gives her the history behind the items. Molly becomes intrigued for several reasons, one being that they have things in common. So Molly decides to do a report for her school teacher, Miss Larsen.

Molly's in foster care and isn't in a good place, so after she confides in her teacher how bad her home life is, Miss Larsen decides to do something about it.

I love how Vivian and Molly, about 80 years apart in age, become friends and share things they've not been able to share with others.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 ⭐️s. I really enjoyed this book! The short, impactful chapters made it easy to read and dive into. There weren’t any unnecessary side stories or boring chapters that could easily have been omitted.

So why 3 ⭐️s? First, the book flip flopped back and forth between two main characters. When the chapters referenced the older character, Vivian, 91, the words flowed smoother and seemed classic, timeless and well written. When the chapters moved to Molly, 16, the words seemed choppy, modern and poorly written. Maybe this was intentional... representative of the times. But it was distracting nonetheless. Maybe the author wanted to emphasize that times have changed dramatically from the early 20th century, but as a whole, human nature has NOT. Decades apart... and technological worlds apart, yet characters connect on an emotional and spiritual level. I appreciate the attempt, I do.... but in doing so it did lose some finesse.

Also, the book moved perfectly the first 3/4’s of the way through, but the last 1/4 seemed rushed, vague, and disconnected from the rest of the story. The novel could have been better lending itself to another 50-75 pages.
I will now use my own imagination to finish and see this story through.

Faults aside, it was a solid book and a good time.

[Melissa Durst · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the “young readers” version of the adult book The Orphan Train. From what I understand, the only difference is that the age of the main character, Molly, is made to be in middle school instead of almost an adult.

I started this book after my daughter walked into my room and she saw me scouring the “Libby” app for Kindle readers. I couldn’t find a book that I could borrow immediately (lol) so she walked in with her copy and said “here mom, I think you might like this.” She was right! I couldn’t put it down because I needed to find out what happened with Molly, and I needed to know Vivian’s backstory. Of course the writing is for pre-teens so I wasn’t looking for literary genius here, but I’m so glad I read it because I had no idea that such a thing as an Orphan Train even existed in the past. Overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend to any 9-12 y/o ...and maybe a parent too! :)

[Eugene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the Young Readers' Edition of Orphan Train. I read the adult version in 2015 and was totally enthralled with it. The author has adapted it for YA readers here, and it too is a most worthy effort. Foster child Molly Ayer is required to do community service after getting into trouble, and she connects with 91 year old Vivian, who needs assistance cleaning out her attic. But really, for Vivian, it's a way to re-view her past life through all the stuff packed away up there, and for Molly it becomes a voyage into learning about herself. Just a sparkler, and adults as well as YAs will find it most engrossing.

[Shiralea Woodhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know a lot of people enjoyed Orphan Train a while back, but I never read it (because honestly, I just don't read that much "adult" stuff); so when I saw this version on a book order for teens I had to check it out. I really liked it! I especially loved the historical part and was really surprised to find out the truth about the "orphan trains." I think this would be a great middle school read. One thing that did bother me was the stereotypical "bad foster families where the child is always misunderstood and mistreated." In today's world, I think that is rarely the case. Also, who is the girl on the cover supposed to be? She is not Irish (redhead) or Native American like either of the main characters. Those are just little complaints though... it's definitely worth a read!

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the reasons I love Battle of the Books is because it asks us to read books outside of our comfort zones. That’s what this book was for my 8 year old. My protective mom-self thought maybe the content was too heavy for her, but she handled it super well (not surprisingly—we tend to underestimate our kids, right?). We were able to relate Molly’s foster care to our neighbors that foster and bring up many other conversations worth having. She struggled at first with the perspective/time shift so asked me to read it with her to help and she really enjoyed it after understanding that. She did a great job making predictions and connections and such a tender ending! I cried :)

[Ava Pratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dorthy (Niamh) and Molly are two girls who have the same issue but they live in different time periods. Dorthy is a Irish 10 year old girl who has just moved to the United States so she is a orphan. Throughout the book she has troubles finding a home. On the other hand, Molly is a girl who is living in present time and is also a orphan, they both have similar stories. Molly has a foster family who works for a 90 year old woman, so Molly has to help them with that and she has to worry about fitting in at school.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars because of the strong female characters throughout the book. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction.

[Amanda Hixson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A historical book with the imaginations of young children as orphans. You truly see and feel what they endured and gone through in their lives as young children in the 1930's and even in today's times. A real eye opener of a story that can only give us a little bit of hope that the world will/can change when it comes to fostering and caring for children. 4/5 Stars.

[Amie's Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author has done a fantastic job of revising this book into #YA #YoungAdult #book.

I have read both this version and the original "Ophan Train" and I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed both versions.

Both of the books are great reads and I highly recommend picking up either "Orphan Train" or its YA adaptation "Orphan Train Girl ."

I rate this as 4 out of 5 Stars
☆☆☆☆

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[Blue Cypress Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter read this in December and really wanted me to read it because she enjoyed it so much. I personally did not particularly but the book simply wasn't geared towards me. But I'll review in the spirit of my girl, so this is an excellent historical novel for an 11 year old.

[Bob Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gripping story, I loved the way it all comes together. The story evokes lots of emotions, sadness, anger, and happiness. Not a lot of happiness but a good insight in to the trails and frustrations immigrant families and children must have endured in that time, as well as current times. 4.5 stars

[Lee Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the book the orphan train and thought I was getting it for my mother to read, yet I got this book instead. It is a delightful read for younger readers that tells the orphan train story again.

A fun surprise and quick and fun read.

[Nicole Willmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was just as fantastic as the adult version. I read this one with my 9 year old and she loved it as well. I loved introducing her to a historical time period and having her learn more about it. We had great convos about how life must have felt for the orphans on the orphan train and for present day children in foster care. Wonderful book!