Orphan Train
Christina Baker Kline
The Children's Home Society - The Orphan Trains
PBS American Experience - The Orphan Trains
The Book: Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by luck or chance. Would they be adopted by a kind and loving family, or would they face a childhood and adolescence of hard labor and servitude?
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. 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. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past. (http://christinabakerkline.com/novels/orphan-train/)
Sarah's Summary:
Sorry it has taken me so long to send this out. By now, we all know that we will be losing a member :( Diana, I'm so sad you are moving. We all wish you, Adam, Emma and Noah the best as you make a new home in North Carolina. I hope you find a book club 'almost' as amazing as ours!
As usual, we had a fun meeting at Brenda's house with mouthwatering pulled pork sandwiches, slaw, fruit and blueberry pound cake. Susan, you missed a good one:) I think we all enjoyed The Orphan Train as it was a relatively light read and an interesting topic. A few of us were able to stay after the meeting to see a documentary on real life Orphan Train kids (and a few people who welcomed an orphan into their folds)- fascinating stuff. As a side note, I read The Chaperone (one of Lori's suggestions that we didn't vote for) and the main character was put on an orphan train to Kansas as a child. She travels to NYC to try to locate her birth mother. Considering I had never heard of orphan trains before Brenda's book suggestion, I think it's interesting that I have now read two books where the orphan trains figure prominently.
We welcomed a new member into our family (Lori- I still need her contact information) and will hopefully meet another (Brenda's friend) in June.
We are meeting at Lori's to discuss "The Whip" on June 8th. We voted on "Strangers in the House" by Georges Simenon for our next book. We'll plan on meeting at my house sometime in July as it's a short book (though the print in my copy is tiny. Or it's my aging eyes).
Sarah
Sorry it has taken me so long to send this out. By now, we all know that we will be losing a member :( Diana, I'm so sad you are moving. We all wish you, Adam, Emma and Noah the best as you make a new home in North Carolina. I hope you find a book club 'almost' as amazing as ours!
As usual, we had a fun meeting at Brenda's house with mouthwatering pulled pork sandwiches, slaw, fruit and blueberry pound cake. Susan, you missed a good one:) I think we all enjoyed The Orphan Train as it was a relatively light read and an interesting topic. A few of us were able to stay after the meeting to see a documentary on real life Orphan Train kids (and a few people who welcomed an orphan into their folds)- fascinating stuff. As a side note, I read The Chaperone (one of Lori's suggestions that we didn't vote for) and the main character was put on an orphan train to Kansas as a child. She travels to NYC to try to locate her birth mother. Considering I had never heard of orphan trains before Brenda's book suggestion, I think it's interesting that I have now read two books where the orphan trains figure prominently.
We welcomed a new member into our family (Lori- I still need her contact information) and will hopefully meet another (Brenda's friend) in June.
We are meeting at Lori's to discuss "The Whip" on June 8th. We voted on "Strangers in the House" by Georges Simenon for our next book. We'll plan on meeting at my house sometime in July as it's a short book (though the print in my copy is tiny. Or it's my aging eyes).
Sarah
The Vote: Sarah presented...
- The Meaning of Night (The Meaning of Night #1) by Michael Cox
- Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
- The Strangers in the House by Georges Simenon WINS!!
Up Next: The Whip by Karen Kondazian on June 8th @ Lori's.
Next to Present: Susan H.
Then:
Next to Present: Susan H.
Then:
- Susan H.
- Diana
- Tassy
- Yeline
- Carmen
- Susan
- Brenda
- Sarah
