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Orphan Train West #1

The Heart's Lonely Secret

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On board the Orphan Train, Ivy befriends Allison, whose angelic features and charming attire will almost certainly win her a new home. Ivy worries that she herself will be looked over by prospective parents. Not willing to be left behind, the lonely, frightened little girl acts impulsively to secure herself a stable future.

312 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1994

8 people are currently reading
175 people want to read

About the author

Jane Peart

132 books61 followers
Jane Johnson Peart of Asheville, North Carolina, Humboldt and Marin counties, California, and in recent years, Hawaii, passed away in 2007. She was the author of more than 60 works of suspense, historical fiction and romance, which touched the hearts and minds of thousands of readers whose correspondence she treasured. She wrote for the secular and Christian market, and is best known for the Brides of Montclair series.

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5 stars
77 (41%)
4 stars
50 (26%)
3 stars
43 (23%)
2 stars
14 (7%)
1 star
2 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for Ktmattison.
29 reviews3 followers
September 7, 2013
This was a really sweet book that I really enjoyed as teen. As an adult I still enjoyed the read, but parts were a bit anoyingly repetitive and almost felt like it was trying to fill space in the book, and other parts made me wish they could have expanded a lot better.

for a teen this is a sweet, clean, and easy read. If you're an actual young adult I think you might rather pass and read something with a tad more substance.
Profile Image for Sarah.
1,614 reviews36 followers
December 27, 2018
Not as good as the other three, in my opinion, but a nice enough story. I was able to relate a bit to some of Ivy's fears and I appreciate how it was made clear that romance and marriage weren't going to fix anything.

Worth reading for sure and I'm glad I have now.
Profile Image for Jeri Stockdale.
Author 9 books33 followers
September 14, 2024
An engaging tale of two young girls on an orphan train who become friends and are adopted by two different families in the same town. The secrets of one girl weigh her down, but in the end, although life is difficult, she sees this is what was meant to be. Great story!
Profile Image for Sarah.
12 reviews
January 2, 2013
I really liked this one like I did the others in this series. One thing that I didn't like was how fast the ending was...it moved really really quickly through what should have been a thought out and slow event. But overall it was great (:
66 reviews1 follower
December 11, 2013
This book was ok but I was disappointed because it was supposed
to be book 4 or 5 ( depnding what source you were looking at)
of a series of 3 previous books that I read. The only similariy between
the first 3 books and this book was all the orphans were from the
same orphanage.
Profile Image for Brittney Dods.
17 reviews
October 20, 2015
Loved this book! I read it in only two days. I really connected with the characters. Baxter was definitely my favorite =) The ending wasn't as great as I wanted and left some unanswered questions but overall it was a great read!
Profile Image for Natalie.
154 reviews
March 8, 2017
Wooow, this was so boring and anitclimatic. The heroine, Ivy, annoyed me exceedingly. I kept hoping she'd meet the circus people again (THEY were interesting) but she never did.

The last line of this book is quite possibly the most awful closing line I've ever read.
Profile Image for Judy.
3,297 reviews
July 16, 2010
This was a great story, one you can cry with.

It is written well

It is not the usual type of book I read.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews

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