Orphan Train Christma

Hearts on the Rails #3

by Rachel Wesson

Kenny Clark knows Santa is magical and only he can find his family.
Kathleen Collins fights poverty and desperation every day in her bid to find new homes for the orphans of New York. But what about her happy ever after?
In this concluding story to the Orphan Train Trilogy, can the magic of Christmas bring happiness at last?

Genres: Christmas, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Holiday, Ebooks, Historical

374 pages, Paperback

Published December 12, 2019

About the author

Rachel Wesson was born in Kilkenny, Ireland but considers herself to be from the capital, Dublin as that's where she spent most of her life. Her dad brought Rachel and her two sisters out every Saturday to give their mother a break. He took them to the library and for ice-cream after. It took a long time for her sisters to forgive her for the hours she spent choosing her books!
She grew up driving everyone nuts asking them questions about what they did during the War or what side they were on in the 1916 rising etc. Finally her Granny told her to write her stories down so people would get the pleasure of reading them. In fact what Granny meant was everyone would get some peace while Rachel was busy writing!
When not writing, or annoying relatives, Rachel was reading. Her report cards from school commented on her love of reading especially when she should have been learning. Seems you can't read Great Expectations in Maths. After a doomed love affair and an unpleasant bank raid during which she defended herself with a tea tray, she headed to London for a couple of years. (There is a reason she doesn't write romance!). She never intended staying but a chance meeting with the man of her dreams put paid to any return to Ireland. Having spent most of her career in the City, she decided something was missing. Working in the City is great but it's a young person's dream. Having three children you never see isn't good for anyone. So she packed in the job and started writing. Thanks to her amazing readers, that writing turned into a career far more exciting and rewarding than any other.
Rachel lives in Surrey with her husband and three children, two boys and a girl. When not reading, writing or watching films for "research" purposes, Rachel likes to hang out with her family. She also travels regularly back home - in fact she should have shares in BA and Aerlingus.

Reviews

[Loraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this was book 3 in the series, it read well as a stand alone. Who couldn't love a 6 year old boy in a poor section of New York who is dependent on his 14 year old sister who works in a factory because their mom is always drunk. When Kenny Clark is separated from his mom and sister, he knows he has to reach Santa because he is magical and can find them. When he finds Santa, he also finds Kathleen Collins who fights poverty and desperation every day trying to save the orphans of the New York slums. A sweet, well written novel about the problems of orphaned children in the late 1800's that ends with a HEA for Kenny and a well loved mutt.

I will definitely go back and read books 1 and 2 in this series.

[Jeri Bitney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but in the end I forced my way through it. The run-on sentences, overuse of commas, young children speaking as children but lapsing into adult sentence structure and syntax -- all were too much for me. It could use a good copy editor. The basic premise is good, but the sequences were at times chaotic and always predictable. As someone who does a great deal of reading of many genres (163 novels so far this year), I am afraid I have become less patient. I hope that the author doesn't feel too bad when she reads this, but a good editor could have caught and corrected many things.

[Randy Tramp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kenny Clark knows Santa is magical and only he can find his family. Kathleen Collins fights poverty and desperation every day in her bid to find new homes for the orphans of New York. But what about her happy ever after? Can the magic of Christmas bring happiness at last?

I love reading about children. Add Christmas and a very special story emerges. I enjoyed this as it put me into the season. Silent Night. Holy Night.

[Linda Galella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story that happens at Christmas time NOT a real Christmas story.

That doesn’t mean that the story “Orphan Train Christmas” is a bad story. It’s book 3 in the HOTR series with continued threads from other books but this story easily stands alone. I read book 1 years ago, skipped the second and book 3 is a complete, compelling story.

Author, Rachel Wesson, is a good storyteller who can weave history in without becoming either an info dump or lecture hall. Her characters are well developed and flawed, making them feel ever so real. The prose is limited but what does exist is appropriately descriptive and not overwhelming.

There are difficult subjects addressed in this story: abuse, murder, bullying, fear, gangs, starvation, stalking and more. These are tempered with love, hope, friendship, family and faith, resulting in a story that’s intriguing and heartrending with the spirit of Christmas looming at the H. E. A. 📚

[Elda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treasure trove of love!

Between the pages of this book is a treasure trove of love, kindness and lots of sacrifices to keep innocent children protected, loved and cared for. We get a glimpse of what life was like for orphans before they were taken in by the local sanctuary and the heroic people who care for them and find them a home and parents willing to adopt them. This story is a little snapshot in time during the holiday season. Some tense moments and happy moments will bring tears to your eyes and a smile on your face when all is said and done.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 3rd book in a series having to do with the orphan trains that took city orphans from New York City , in this case, but from other Eastern Seaboard cities as well. Although children of all ages were rescued, the focus was to get very young children safe from the gangs while they were too young for the gangs to want them, and to rescue older kids from gangs whenever possible. Gangs offered a sense of family and friends and someplace, however poor, to lay their heads...a function that still draws kids into today's gangs. They were expected to steal for the gangs, often operating as pickpockets, beggars, and sent into homes through the small transom windows atop most doors, to unlock the main doors and let in the burglars. They had to steal or beg their own food to eat, or go through the trash. If you've seen the musical movie "Oliver!" and Fagan and his slummy hideout popped into your mind, esp. the way that Fagan's out of control protégé pushed Oliver through small windows into the house to unlock the main doors, you're on target.
Factory working conditions were cold and drafty in winter and stiflingly hot in summer. In winter, colds ran rampant, often turning into pneumonia, which very few survived. In summer, heat exhaustion and heat stroke were causes of illness and death. Lint in factories that made or dyed cloth or sewed garments were exposed to fine particles of airborne lint and had no respiratory protection, thus the oarticles gathered in their lungs. When particles or dust get into the lungs, the result is much the same as Black Lung among coal miners, though this type is called white lung or silicosis. Both end up causi g coughing, and there were few treatments, so deaths occurred in very young people, esp. if their lungs weren't strong to start with. Dye factories of any sort, and match factories, among others, exposed workers to toxic fumes that damaged lungs and nervous systems, and in the case of matches, ate away at the facial bone structure. These occupations were manned by children as young as 5 and 6 years old, who were preferential hires because they could be paid less even though they were expected to do an adult's job. Women were hired next as they could be paid less than men even if they were the sole wage earner in a 2 parent family. Men and boys more ofren worked jobs involving heavy machinery and heavy industry...my own grandfather, at age 9, lost his father and as the oldest in the family, had to quit school and start working in the steel mills where I grew up. He died in the mill, having attended night school and gotten a high school diploma (rare in that era), then had gone onto getting a degree in metallurgical engineering in the same way. He became a supervisor in charge of safety, which he zealously pursued at home and at work (he wired the house I grew up in when they first has a shot at getting electricity, with a system so safe it has not yet, to my knowledge, been surpassed for its safety but is still no longer in use). In that role, h was taking a group of businessmen on a tour...he just stopped and fell flat down to the floor, dead before he fell. He was 51 and already had his 40 years of service pin when he died. To give you an idea how the companies back then treated people, he died in 1943, and they gave his widow his pay, up to the day he died, even deducting the half day he couldn't work because he was dead. The mill gave them free electricity, which was erratic at best, and cut off the moment he died. And this was an improvement in working conditions over what the people in their ethnic slum neighborhoods lived with in that era. There were still no sick days or vacation times for most workers.
Between the pain of repetitive stress injuries from factory jobs of all sorts, work injuries from heavy lifting, mangled & often amputated limbs from unsafe machines or people's long hours (and often 2nd and even 3rd jobs) that made them fatigued, thus often not as careful as needed, plus arthritis from being stooped over something, heavy work, etc., and no money for doctors (a sentiment expressed in the book is that some doctors don't care about a patient unless there is a fat wallet attached to them is very true even today), the universal remedy was alcohol. Gin was easily made at home - juniper berries are the basis for gin, and apparently at one point there were a lot of juniper berries to be foraged for its creation. Dandelions became the basis for homemade dandelion wine. Sloe berries would create sloe gin. Even unused apple cores could be pressed for cider, which was then allowed to ferment. This made alcohol cheap...until or unless the homemade stuff was no longer enough, or there was no way to make it, or people were sore after work and stopped in at a bar on the way home, or bought bottles to take home, openingnthem on the way for a nip to start easing the pain. Soon, parents, particularly men, were drinking up the money for food for their families, leaving their children's meager wages for food, if they could get food with it before the drunkard parent stole it for booze. If the drunk parent was also an angry person who got worse when drunk, the family had to deal with verbal AND physical abuse. Many older children found the streets had their own violence, but that it was more avoidable than the abuse at home...and by older, I mean kids around 8 or so and older. Less often, but for that, more problematic, was a drunkard woman, esp. one who lived with a drunkard man. Once the man left them, they were usually increasingly brutal towards their kids, seeing them as taking drink away by needing clothes and food. As what we now call "wet brain syndrome," which happens when neuronal damage, from rotgut booze esp., hits the brain in a critical mass situation, so many neurons are dead that the person may become paranoid, begin to have auditory and/or visual hallucinations, and worse. At this point, even if they get off the booze, they will still remain too mentally damaged for full rehabilitation. This means many kids are functionally, if not actually, orphaned at a young age, and seeing the same thing all around them, conclude this is the only life they'll ever know. Illiterate since they work instead of attending school - which wasn't free in those days, so even sober parents couldn't afford the fees - their prospects only began to look up if they found a church with a Sunday School - which used to be a real school, free, for all ages, and both genders, one that taught reading and basic math from the Bible. Then they had a chance to learn, to get a better job, and to read discarded newspapers, and use the library system to borrow books and learn more.
The point of the mission, the Sanctuary, in this story was a commitment to showing kids a better life. They attended school, learned more than just basic reading and math - like history and geography and science - and they were given chores, were warm, fed, clothed, sheltered, and loved. Then they were taken on trains to the American West, and stopped in each town to see if anyone would adopt any of the kids. In this book, they're developing a record system and a system of vetting potential parents...one which bureaucrats have, in the ensuing century plus, turned into a too complicated monstrosity that vets people only if they follow current ideology and have over a certain income, thus cutting out potential good oarents who are less affluent and more likely to question the system.
The Collins sisters are of course back again. Lily is pregnant and had twin boys last year. Bridget, who takes the children on the train trips, is there with her husband.
The story itself focuses on a 14 year old girl and her 5 year old brother, both of whom live with their drunkard mother, dodge her fists, bear her shouted abuse, deal with her fights with their neighbors, and the girl deals with hiding money from their mother so they can eat. The boy got into a fight over protecting a tiny, raggedy dog, at tje start of the book, the dog still a puppy. When they go home, their mother has left nothing for them to eat and is passed out on her bed, drunk. The girl, Mary, makes sure little brother Kenny knows about the stash of money she keeps so they can go to the market and buy soup to eat so the boy can have food. She has no plans to eat until the vendor insists she take the bit left in the urn because he'll have to throw it out otherwise. He gives them the last bread, stale, but easy to soften with the soup. Next day she has to work an hour unpaid because she had to bring her little brother with her and she's charged "rent" for providing "lodgings" in a broom closet. On the way home, an older woman beckons them in because their mother is in an altercation with the pretty Italian neighbor whom she insists has stolen her long-gone husband. She's pretty into it, causing a ruckus, and the old woman - who keeps kids away by saying that she's a witch and will curse them and hex them - is actually kind, but Kenny is scared of her, and not sure she won't hurt the dog to which he's become so attached. Mary reassures him, and the old woman, whom everyone calls Granny, says that the dog can stay as long as he does his business outside, otherwise Kenny will have to clean it up...which he does have to do at one point. Once the fight quiets down, Mary wants to go check on their ma. Granny advises against it...tells the girl to check her ma in the morning before she goes to work, to let her ma sleep off the drink. But the girl goes anyway. Not too long after, the dog goes berserk barking, and leads Kenny up the stairs, where he sees no sign of their Ma, but sees Mary out of it and surrounded by some sort of liquid. He tells the dog to get Mr. Fleming...and the dog does. He says Mary is asleep and he can't waken her. He asks what the stuff is around her. Then he looks at it and realizes it's red. Mr. Fleming calls his girls to get Kenny cleaned up, and calls a doctor, who calls the cops, because Mary is dead and has been murdered...from what anyone actually knows, it seems her mother killed her, so they search for her mother. They happen to be right...and to this old nurse, who worked substance abuse full time for a good while, subacute and acute (because any urban hospital nurse works substance abuse by default), what is described when Mary is killed by her mother is a case of wet brain syndrome, complete with hallucinations. Meanwhile, the Flemings and Granny care for Kenny, who believes his sister is sick, not dead. Mary had told him tales about Santa being magical and granting wishes. Kenny takes off to find Macy's, where he knows Santa sees kids, to ask Santa to wake up Mary and give him Mary and his Ma back. On the way, he's stopped by a gang of older boys who start in on beating up him and his dog...until another boy...actually, a girl, it turns out, tells them to leave Kenny and the dog alone or she'll have her big brothers beat them up...she'll tell her brothers they tried to hurt her and they will believe her and go after them. This is enough to make the gang scatter...for the present. She checks Kenny and the dog over and takes them home with her, making Kenny carry the grocery bags. She insists Kenny needs a bath, and eventually, after dinner (which has its own wonders, a new food, with seasoning, called "spaghetti," that has little balls of meat in it, and that he needs help to eat but loves), he ends up tossed into the tub, clothes and all, since he didn't want to be naked in front of Angel and her 3 hulking brutes of brothers. After he's washed, his hair cut, and fresh clothes on - hand me downs that Angel had worn when younger - the biggest brute says he'll take Kenny to Macy's next day and pay for him to see Santa, but Kenny has to do something with him. Kenny knows whatever it is that this brute is doing, it's wrong, so when he sees Santa, who he knows will know he's doing something wrong, he is unabke to take another step. After Santa lifts him into his lap and soothes him, Kenny obeys Santa and explains his wish and his circumstances. Santa announces he has decided to make Kenny his helper, and when security comes over to object, Santa explains the problem. He has to keep the boy safe somehow. The problem for Kenny is his dog is being held hostage, but the adults insist the dog will escape and go to the last place he had both Kenny and food. They turn out to be right. Meanwhile, Kathleen is horrified to learn of Mary's death, and more horrified when Kenny tells her about his stay with Angel. The dog does indeed escape and goes to Granny's, where the men from the sanctuary bring the dog home after they relocate Granny. Kathleen's brother Shane is, it seems, involved with gangs, but like the men from the Sanctuary, he can go places and rescue kids by what he does and where he goes, whereas the women and the good cops can't.
The biggest threat is a particular gang headed by a bloodthirsty hoodlum named Monk. who may decide that his wayward former employee, the brute among Angel's brothers, will follow the dog, one way or another, to Kenny, whose potential for use as a door opener for burglary, a cute kid distracting rich women, and teaching him pickpocketing skills, among other things, is unlimited, thus the brute sees Kenny as a gold mine, and if he follows the dog, the brite finds his gold mine. If someone else follows the dog, it will stop where a link to the brute will be found. Monk wants the brute, likely to kill him, and could target the Sanctuary to try and catch his prey...and put the Sanctuary, and Kenny, in mortal danger. They're on a sort of lockdown, but Kathleen insists she wants to rescue Angel. Shane comes along, and it turns out, the 2 are in love. She's too young to marry, but they're sure, and Shane wants her safe until they can marry.
Kathleen gets 2 proposals, and accepts both...you'll see how in the book...and they follow up with the wedding at the end. You also get to meet Lily's 2nd child, get good news from Kathleen's sister, Kenny and his dog both get adopted, and more good news. There's no word on who will take over the orphan train runs, but their usual person has to quit. There are some interesting facts about the gangs that are more in line with what I knew growing up in a rough neighborhood complete with girl and boy gangs (the whole town, which was small, was a rough neighborhood).
As for what happens next, we'll have to go to the next book in the series. I had already read the first 2 books, and you don't have to read them to read this one - they afford enough background - but the first 2 were as good as this one, or I wouldn't have bothered reading this one, and I recommend all 3. The author has several series, and there is some linkage between some of the series and this one.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unrealistic, unbelievable, and overdone. Too much already with this series. The only train was a toy and Christmas didn't have much to do with it. Again, this story was mostly about the adult drama. The author used little Kenny just like Lucky used him. He was young, cute, sympathetic and got people's attention. He was also very wise, articulate and thoughtful for a five year old. And Kathleen, who in the second book was always wishing Bridget or Lily were with her to tell her what to do, is Miss Bossy Britches in this one and won't listen to anyone, including her new fiancé. Of course, Bridget and Lily are conveniently sidelined in this one. And what a coincidence that Kenny is taken in by the girl who happens to be the sister of thugs and the girlfriend of Kathleen's brother. Of all the people in New York City, this mix of people converge. And all the tiptoeing around Bridget because she wants to be a mother so badly and is so disappointed that she can't get pregnant when she's surrounded by orphans in need of families. The author makes an attempt at suspense and danger, then it all melts away in one paragraph and the story winds down to the usual happy ending with Christmas miracles all around.

[Tamara V · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could and should have been better. It seemed like an historical fiction book meant for teenagers.. I was confused when the girl serving meatballs and spaghetti was not Italian but later on said she only cooked Jewish food.

[Jan Wardell]

Meh

Not very well written actually. The time frame for confused with the present from time to time. Would not recommend at all.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the wake of tragedy, Kenny Clark is rescued by a troubled young woman named Angel. A fateful visit to Macy's Santa is a turning point in both of their stories. Kenny desperately wants a Christmas miracle: for Santa to give him his family.

*Orphan Train Christmas* -- the third book in the "Hearts on the Rails" series -- was perhaps my favorite (at least thus far). Despite the title, the novel takes place exclusively in New York City, set around the tenements, street life, and the refuge of "The Sanctuary." Its a heartbreaking, yet heartwarming story, centered around a dynamic drama, and with a cast of characters who possess emotional appeal. While I was intrigued by Kathleen's character in the first book, over the course of the series characters like Bella, Kenny, and Angel became more compelling than the Collins sisters or their patron, Lily. Unfortunately, these characters stop developing (though their stories continue), and as a result they read rather flat and repetitive. The strongholds of this novel are Mary, Kenny, and Granny Belbin, supported by secondary characters such as Angel, Jack, Lucky, Mike and Tommy. The storytelling continues to be carried by modern sensibilities blended with historical sentimentality, which, at times, falls into anachronisms such the use of phrases like, "you guys" (which existed, but carried a different meaning), and the wrapped up ending with an an even more modern than characteristically period.

*Orphan Train Christmas* was suppose to be the concluding book of a trilogy, which is now a six books series. For now, I'm happy to leave the story here.

[Valsala Rajan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the first 3 books of this series on the trot - it was so easy to get through and I had the lot as a collection. It seems sad to give this 2 stars because the purity of intent and the heartfelt writing are palpable. Nevertheless, it's mostly the writing and the actual storytelling, that I have a problem with. The historicity of the events was what kept me going. The idea of the orphan trains is fascinating and appalling at the same time.

So you have all these children being shipped out of New York to remote parts of the country in search of new homes. Some are lucky and get good homes, but others not so much. A pretty emotional story, right? However, if you like nuance in your storytelling this is certainly not for you. Every person in the story is either all black or all white. Once you have the general drift, everything is predictable. There's plenty of melodrama and people literally turning white (anxiety) or red (embarrassment) all the time. Vocabulary seems limited or perhaps that was intentional and the books are aimed at a class of readers who perhaps don't read very much. That might also explain why the writer felt the need to repeat a point so often. Something is said as thought by someone and a couple of pages later it's expressed as dialogue. Sigh...

[Birgit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love the Orphan Train Series - heartbreaking and heartwarming moments following each other, with lovely and loveable characters having to endure them.
When Kenny loses his alcoholic mother and the sister who used to protect him, he is rescued by Angel, whose brothers, however, have connections to one of the town's worst criminals. At the same time, our well known protagonists from the Sanctuary, are looking for Kenny. It's Christmas time, so will a miracle happen?
Maybe some of the protagonists are leaning a bit towards being naive, but despite that, or even because of that, these stories have a certain charm which will captivate a reader from the first page.
And although it is a series, and really should be read in chronological order, it can be read in any order in my opinion, because whatever you need to know of what happened before will be shortly mentioned - you might wish to have more info, but it is always enough to let you go on (and actually makes you get the books you have missed).
I hope there are many more.

[Tracy M]

There was a big gap of a few years at the start of this book from the previous instalment. That made the timeline and story flow not quite easily followed.

Lily had gone from expecting to suddenly having had twins who were now over a year old and she’s expecting a third. Doc Green is suppose to be much older than Kathleen an established pillar but then is spoken about like he too is a young man. Whatever happened to Patrick? I had to go back to book 1 to get a sense of everyone’s actual age.

{in 1896 missing Maura would be 25; Bridget 22; imprisoned Michael 20; Kathleen 19; second chance Shane 18; Liam almost 10 and Annie almost 8}

I also had it in my brain that NY was far smaller a populous that historically it was during that period. I mean how hard could it be to find a woman suffering a psychotic break? but upon looking up #’s there was approximately 3.4 million people in NYC then.

I feel a bit like the byline should be “you get a husband and you get a husband….and here’s a bonus baby seed”

[Linda Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book ends the three book story of the Orphan Train and the people involved . Some have married and have children, some fall in love with a rescued child and want to adopt him when they get the fathers permission and more. this story takes place just before Christmas and the adults are planning a big celebration for the children with gifts and even a candle lit Christmas tree, the first for most of the children. New characters are added with the death of one of the sweet lady who is herself very poor, but helps those too proud to accept help from the sanctuary that get the children for the Orphan Train. We find the lady who has started all of this, is now married with babies, the two strong men who are her protectors every time she visits the poor area, two of the sisters rescued in the first book are adults or are almost an adult are affected in some way with the changes in their lives.You will have to read this last book to get the full picture and it is not one you will want to miss. These books are well written with well developed story lines. I'm so glad that I read them.

[Trudy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the last book of a series of three so it was a struggle at first to memorize characters. There are a lot, but the story focuses on Kathleen Collins who assists Lily Doherty, founder of Carmel's Mission (a home for orphans and a participant in the orphan trains program finding them new families.) They are getting ready for Christmas when a local policeman asks if they will take in a child, Kenny who needs their care. When they go to get him from his neighbor, he has run off. The story continues to their finding him but it becomes complicated by the fact that a gang member's sister has helped him and now they are all endangered. A bit of violence and rescuing and patching up by Kathleen's doctor beau follows and with some clever maneuvering, there is a sweet ending.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sanctuary House for orphans is busy, Lily is awaiting the birth of a baby, Dr. Richard and Kathleen are smitten and New York is busy. It’s Christmas after all! In this book you will meet Kenny, love Jack, cry over Mary and give hugs to those that survive cholera. I actually felt cold as the author described the snow, slush, frozen feet and red-faces of those coming and going this time of year. I loved the way Inspector Griffin looked out for those unable to stand against violence. This book can be read any time of year but it feels special to look back to 1895 in New York at Christmas time.

[Mary Hite · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Orphan Train series! The mission of the children’s sanctuary in NY is to help orphaned children with food, clothing, shelter, and eventually, to be sent out west and adopted. Some children live in the the tenements and some live on the streets. Parents die or abandon their families. Young Kenny ends up alone with a scrawny dog he is trying to protect. But there are gangs and other things that complicate Kenny’s life. And at Christmas time, he asks Santa for some special gifts, some imposition. Thankfully there are tenacious women who run the sanctuary, women who know what it is like to be orphaned, and who know how to help.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this last book of the trilogy, we revisit old and loved friends. We also meet a few new ones. Kathleen has loved Richard for months, however, she hasn't felt the same emotion from him. Putting that aside, she focuses on the orphans and worries about her brother, Shane. Mary Clark is worried about her job, pleasing her mother and, most of all, taking care of her little brother, Kenny. Sweet Kenny and his sidekick Jack eventually end up at the orphanage and then the mystery and mayhem ensue.
This is such a sweet-sad at times-but wonderful story of love, redemption and forgiveness.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read most of the Orphan Train books. In this one where orpahn children are taken to different cities in order to find home for them. Kenny this one little boys mom killed his sister. After that no one knew where she had gone. He believed in Santa and wanted to ask him to help his Mom come back home. On his travels he got beat up trying to save a little puppy from getting kicked. He called him Jack and hid him in his shirt. This story tells of how Christmas was done for these children and how Kenny faired out in the ending of it.

[Marlene Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed reading this as well as the rest of the books so far, in this series. I'm sure much of what is written is based on fact, and it's a shame what these poor children had to go through. I'm sure he could be said of many areas of the country at the time. But many of us have heard of Hell's Kitchen, although we didn't know what it is. Brings tears to your eyes, both in sadness, and happiness. Would recommend it to anyone that has enjoyed the other books in this series. Or if you would just like a quick read.

[Anne-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

My reviews never give the books the credit they deserve...
I don't review what the books are about because I don't like giving away the story. You can read the synopsis to see what the book is about...I like to tell you how the book made me feel.
This series is amazing it will make you laugh and cry! Heartbreaking and brilliant. Once I start the book I don't want to put it down...it's like I'm watching a Hallmark movie! Full of love and inspiration .
I highly recommend this series...I'm off to read book 4 now

[sue wa · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was then this is now

I like reading stories that don't have sex sex and more sex and swearing in them. Many thanks to Ms Wesson. i will explain my title. During the era that she writes about , all of this story was really happening in ny. Look again from that era to this one, nothing much has changed just a few differences. Styles and jobs, have changed, but poverty and tenements, and gangs, are still there. This story also shows how people communicated within their groups. By messenger not by cell, big huge difference.

[Cheryl Hanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great addition to this series. Well written, descriptive with wonderful characters. Timmy's love for his dog, Jack, is sweet. I love that he believes that Santa can heal his family and bring them back together. The only con I have is that I wish at the start there was a recap of previous books. Something like a cast of characters briefly describing their situations and relations to each other.

I look forward to reading the next book in this series as well as other books by this author.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first book in the Hearts on the Rails series and enjoyed it enough to jump into the third in the series hoping to amp up my Christmas spirit. For anyone who was a huge fan of the first book, the Christmas tale will satisfy. I must be more Grinch like this year as I had a hard time getting past some of the dialogue which flipped from stilted speech of the 1800's to way too current phrases. Did people say "you guys" in 1895? Maybe they did. I don't know. I wasn't there but this is one example of the type of dialogue and phrasing that turned me off and pulled me out of the sweet story.

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 3rd book in the Heart on the Rails series was just as great as the first 2 books. I learned more about the characters and how their lives continue from book 1 and 2. I feel like we are all friends! I liked how there were new characters introduced into the series. There was more suspense and drama in this book. There were elements of fear and danger , but love , peace and the importance of friends and family too. Onto book 4.

[John Harmand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely story.

Tense at times, but the love between the Collins family and their close friends help each person persevere through the tough times and celebrate the happy moments together. The orphaned or deserted children touch your heart while reading about the tremendous cruelty and mistreatment they have suffered, but the joy of a loving Christmas as seen through their eyes is a wonderful experience to share with them.

[Celeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christmas wishes can come true

This was an uplifting story of Christmas with a kind and wonderful cast of characters. The genuine love of humanity makes this so appropriate for this time of year. This was a quick read and one of a series of six. So I can enjoy more of them. It is nice to hear some happily ever after stories about a often sad time in a child's life. I would recommend this book.

[Peggy R. Key · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read. Not historically accurate.

One big flaw in this book is the fact that Dr. Richard was supposed to be studying plastic surgery. Plastics hasn't been invented yet, so the word would not yet be in the vocabulary. Would also have liked a better explanation of TR as police commissioner of NYC. If I hasn't known it was TR she meant, it was confusing.

Good endings for all. Everyone gets what they deserve.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orphan Train Christmas

This is a story of the struggles that the early Americans had to face during the early 1900's in New York. People were segregated by race and religion. There were gangs fighting everyone. People were poor. There was a sanctuary that tried to get the young orphans and street kids to make a better life for them. This story is full of compassion,love,fears and hope. It is a wonderful read. I give it 5 stars and recommend it to everyone.

[Melissa B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting look at New York tenements

Really involved story of the New York of 1890’s when many people were having a difficult time making it in life. Many orphans were in the streets and this story about some of the people who worked to help them find a better life was great. Katherine and Richard meet in helping these kids. Gangs cause some problems but everything eventually works out.