Rich in detail and epic in scope, the train rider is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of second chances, of unexpected friendships, and of the secrets we carry with us that keep us from finding out who we are. A young irish immigrant orphaned in new york city, vivian was put on a train to the midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance. She is an immigrant from ireland whose family came to the usa in the first half. Her family was killed in a fire and she was sent to the childrens aid society. Vivian daly vivians singular characteristic is her selfcontainment. Returning east later in life, vivian leads a quiet, peaceful existence on the coast of maine, the memories of her upbringing rendered a hazy blur. Vivian older woman past comes to light an orphan and on a train to find a family. Vivian daly was one such child, sent by rail from new york city to an. Niamh pronounced neev was an irish immigrant girl sent on an orphan train from new york city to minnesota in the late 1920s. Vivian is a 91yearold who has a hidden past as an orphan train rider and. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 278 pages and is available in paperback format. Compare and contrast orphan train orphan train a gripping story about loss, adaptability, and courage.
Orphan train is a best book club book for discussion, the novel of a woman with a hidden past as an orphantrain rider and a teenage girl seeking answers about her life. For book clubs 1929 train itinerary international editions. I do think that vivian was afraid, and that her decision was selfish. Soon enough she becomes an orphan and is put on an orphan train. Vivian daly niamh power dorothy character analysis in orphan. Christina baker klines orphan train is an unforgettable story of friendship and second chances that highlights a littleknown but historically significant movement in americas pastand it includes a special ps section for book clubs featuring insights, interviews, and more. Maybe someone can confirm that the story ends with vivian asking molly about possibly searching for her sister i still think i did not get end of book.
Orphan train by christina baker kline good to know. Throughout the novel, her friendship with 91yearold vivian daly. She was born in ireland and immigrated to new york city with her family in 1929. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. Ann packermoving between contemporary maine and depressionera minnesota, orphan train is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of second chances, and unexpected friendship. I have quite a bit of experience with this kind of autobiographical narrative, and am intimately familiar with its quirks, subtexts, and possibilities. The orphan train quotes below are all either spoken by vivian daly niamh. Rich in detail and epic in scope, orphan train is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of second chances, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are. Christina has longed to write a scene in which she clarifies vivians motivations. You can read the book on your pc, mobile, tablets, or amazon kindle. I think the statement is very true for her friendship with molly.
The closer molly grows to vivian, the more she discovers parallels to her own life. Vivian traveled from nyc to minnesota as a young girl on one of the infamous orphan trains that was used to get orphans out of the cities into the country where they might have a better opportunity to find families and to be able to make a good life. Orphan train is a young adult historical fiction novel about the relationship between seventeen yearold molly ayer and ninetyone yearold vivian daly who, as the result of spending time together and sharing their experiences, form a bond, learn from each other, and change in significant ways. Orphan train by christina baker kline booksamillion. As a young irish immigrant, vivian daly was one such child, sent by rail from new york city to an uncertain future. Vivian daly niamh power dorothy character analysis. How ridiculous an old lady gives her a moldy book she has no use for, and she. Niamh powervivian daly is one of the protagonists of the novel.
Orphan train by christina baker kline plot summary litcharts. Apr 02, 20 vivians journey west was aboard an orphan train, a bit of misguided 1900sera social engineering moving homeless, destitute city children, mostly immigrants, into midwest families. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past. Brought together by mollys community service sentence, seventeenyearold molly learns that she has much more in common with ninetyoneyear. In orphan train, vivian dalys firstperson, pasttense account of her experience on the orphan train and her journey from irishcatholic immigrant to protestant midwesterner alternates with the presentday, presenttense, thirdpersonlimited story of vivians life on the maine coast. Adapted and condensed for a young audience, orphan train girl includes an authors note and archival photos from the orphan train era. Chosen as a one book, one read by hundreds of communities and campuses a finalist for a goodreads choice award, orphan train was included on dozens.
Mollys assignment is to help vivian daly, who is nearing 100 years old, clean out her attic. The main characters of this historical, historical fiction story are molly ayer, vivian daly. Orphan train by christina baker kline 1 words bartleby. Molly ayer has been in foster care since she was eight years old. The orphan train by molly ayer and vivian daly 1541. So, when i found christina baker klines acclaimed novel orphan. Orphan train by christina baker kline book club discussion. Readers who are unfamiliar with this episode in american history might be surprised to learn about the hardships and be struck by the parallels between niamhvivians experience nearly a hundred years ago and the foster care system today. She also found the little boy named carmine, whom she had to take care of while on the orphan train.
The main character in this novel, vivian daly, traveled from ireland to america, ending up on an orphan train and settling in the midwest. This story specifically documents the orphan trains that transported more than 200,000 orphaned, abandoned and homeless children to the midwest for indentured. York times bestselling novel orphan train follows a twelveyearold foster girl who forms. Orphan train book pima county public library bibliocommons. At the beginning of the book, how old does vivian say she is. After my book club chose orphan train for our next meetup, i picked up my copy. Orphan train by christina baker kline, paperback barnes. This is the copy miss larsen gave vivian upon her moving to the home of mr.
Orphan train is a young adult historical fiction novel about the relationship between seventeen yearold molly ayer and ninetyone yearold vivian daly who, as the result of spending time together and sharing their experiences, form a bond, learn from each other, and change in. At this time, vivian is still known as niamh, she is hopeful that the life awaiting her in minnesota will be a good life. Pdf orphan train by christina baker kline download in pdf or epub online. After some time, vivian asks molly to help her find her daughter, and molly helps vivian sign up with an. Making a difference project coordinator john shontz helena, montana. Many railroad historians and rail fans helped with this project via various. Her boyfriend, jack, arranges for her to fulfill her hours by helping vivian daly, the elderly. Dec, 2016 since the publication of her smash international bestseller orphan train, christina baker kline has met with countless readers and book clubs and is often asked the same question about a key decision one of her protagonists makes in orphan train.
A novel by christina baker kline conversation starters limited time offer. In orphan train, who is jacks mom who works for vivian daly. Orphan train girl kindle edition by kline, christina. Orphan train chapters orphan train by christina baker kline summary and analysis. This book held great sentimental value for vivian, because miss larsen was special to her, and it was the first book she actually owned. A novel christina baker kline, 20 harpercollins 278 pp. Orphan train okay, well i really, really liked this book but it ended so abruptly i keep thinking that i did not for some reason get the entire download of the book. Pdf orphan train book by christina baker kline free. A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of americas history. Please use the link provided below to generate a unique link valid for 24hrs. Molly took it upon herself to look for vivian s sister maisie who apparently did not pass away when they were younger. Niamh power vivian daly is one of the protagonists of the novel. He is sent to sit next to her because he and the boys he was sitting with were causing trouble on the train.
She was deposited with the byrnes, who wanted only child labor in a dressmaking enterprise. We used the information in your novel orphan train to develop a train trip itinerary for your train rider, vivian daley, using the official railroad guide from 1929 many railroad historians and rail fans helped with this project via various railroad historical societies and yahoo. Download and read orphan train by christina baker kline for free. Molly is about to discover as she and vivian unpack her possessions, and memories that vivians story is a piece of americas tumultuous history now largely forgotten. Orphan train historical background christina baker kline. Vivian daly niamh power dorothy character analysis in. Buy a cheap copy of orphan train book by christina baker kline. Between 1854 and 1929, socalled orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the east coast to the farmlands of the midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose. Ann packer between 1854 and 1929, socalled orphan trains ran.
For example, the defining moment of her life comes when, overwhelmed by grief after the death of her husband, dutchy, she gives her newborn daughter away. As a young irish immigrant, vivian daly was one such child, sent by rail from new york city to an uncertain future a world away. Molly is a rebellious 17yearold foster child punished to community service for stealing a copy of jane eyre. With molly s support, vivian decides to get a computer and reconnect with people from her past, particularly from the orphan train. Kline reminds us that we never really lose anyone or anything orperhaps most importantlyourselves. I was surprised that she did put may up for adoption, but she did know through her experiences that babies are always wanted. Moving between contemporary maine and depressionera minnesota, orphan train is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of second chances, and unexpected friendship. Molly ayers is a preteen struggling to fit into her latest foster home, and after stealing a book from the library, she must do 20 hours of community service. Vivian decides to get a computer and reconnect with people from her past, particularly from the orphan train. The year is 2011 and molly is in trouble with the law. Vivian s journey west was aboard an orphan train, a bit of misguided 1900sera social engineering moving homeless, destitute city children, mostly immigrants, into midwest families. Orphan train relevant reading book discussion guides. Apr 11, 2014 molly had inquired about vivian s sister, but she thought she was dead. A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate.
Orphan train a novel by christina baker kline is a beautiful story about a seventeen year old girl named molly ayer who has lived in a foster home since she was nine and a ninetyone year old lady named vivian who accepts molly into her home and shares her life story with her for a school project. Christina baker klines inspiration for the novel came from her husbands grandfather, frank robertson, who was believed to have travelled on an orphan train. She finds a position cleaning out the attic of vivian, an elderly woman in their coastal maine town. The main narrative about vivian, an orphan train rider, was excellent. As a young irish immigrant, vivian daly was one such child, sent by rail from. Readers who are unfamiliar with this episode in american history might be surprised to learn about the hardships and be struck by the parallels between niamh vivian s experience nearly a hundred years ago and the foster care system today. In orphan train, how old does vivian say she was when her biological parents died. I have quite a bit of experience with this kind of. With mollys support, vivian decides to get a computer and reconnect with people from her past, particularly from the orphan train.
Vivian daly vivian is one of the two main characters in the book. April 20 christina baker klines latest novel, orphan train, introduces readers to vivian daly, a now90yearold woman who has had a chaotic past from her difficult childhood in ireland to her turbulent adulthood midwest. One is a seventeen years old living in foster care. In orphan train, vivian daly s firstperson, pasttense account of her experience on the orphan train and her journey from irishcatholic immigrant to protestant midwesterner alternates with the presentday, presenttense, thirdpersonlimited story of vivian s life on the maine coast.
Vivian daly was one such child, sent by rail from new york city to an uncertain future a world away. In orphan train, christina baker kline seamlessly knits together the past and present of two women, one young and one old. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are keys to a turbulent past. Orphan train major character analysis supersummary. Vivian daly, known as niamh pronoucned neev as a child, an orphan train rider in 1929. The first edition of the novel was published in april 2nd 20, and was written by christina baker kline. Vivian daly has lived a quiet life on the coast of maine. Ninetyoneyearold vivian daly has lived a quiet life on the coast of maine for decades. They put her on the orphan train which took her to minnesota to a new life.
Download orphan train by christina baker kline free and read on your pc, mobile, tablets, or amazon kindle from readers section. Orphan train was a mix of favorite childhood books of mine such as anne of green gables, heidi, and understood betsy, and ms. Orphan train is a harrowing but ultimately uplifting story about this historical phenomenon. Orphan train is a book set in both the present day and the late 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. After some time, vivian asks molly to help her find her daughter, and molly helps vivian sign up with an adoption registry. We used the information in your novel orphan train to develop a train trip itinerary for your train rider, vivian daley, using the official railroad guide from 1929. She is an immigrant from ireland whose family came to the usa in the first half of the 20th century. Making a difference project coordinator john shontz helena, montana we used the information in your novel orphan train to develop a train trip itinerary for your train rider, vivian daley, using the official railroad guide from 1929.
That single decision defines her life from that point on. Free download or read online orphan train pdf epub book. This book is especially perfect for motherdaughter. Molly ayer is living with ralph and dina in their home in spruce harbor, maine.
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