Orphan Train

For my independent reading book this month, I read the novel Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline. This novel gives you a taste of history because of the historical events, places, and people that are involved. In Orphan Train, part of the setting takes place in the 1900's, the book jumps back and forth in time periods and intertwines the main characters while doing so. The 1900's and present day are shown and includes the two main characters, Vivian Daly and Molly Ayer. Vivian Daly is an Irish Immigrant who moved to New York City with her family, until a fire caused the tragic death of her family, leaving her an orphan. Throughout the novel, her childhood is explored and followed. She has many unfortunate experiences, but somehow survives it all. As she grows old, she meets Molly Ayer, a 17 year old girl who is involved with new, modern, current things. She, despite the differences, has a lot more in common with Vivan than what they both thought was possible. Molly is a foster child, and grows a strong relationship with Vivian. Molly and Vivian, together, uncover past mysteries and answer questions from Vivans old life. At the same time, they connect the present into what they are discovering. Overall, Orphan Train is a story about journey, belonging, family, relationship, and overcoming/dealing with hardship.

I choose to read this book because it seemed interesting and I love reading realistic-fiction novels or things that happened in real life. This book seemed like the perfect choice because it is a made up story, but in a realistic setting and time period. The novel provides great detail to make it seem real, and is crafted well enough to keep you from putting the book down. I also chose to read Orphan Train because my family and friends recommended it to me and seemed to have really enjoyed reading it.
I would recommend this book because it refreshes our history, but in an interesting way. The history in the book does not overpower the story, so the book does not drag on and is not at all (in my opinion) boring. Also, Vivian and Molly display so many deeper messages in such a beautiful and touching way. Reading this book gives you a whole new perspective on so many things, including life.With these reasons, I believe that Orphan Train would be a great novel choice.

This book is connected to American culture in many ways. Orphan Train shows how Americans lived, treated people, behaved, ate, talked, and more in the 1900's. It also, shows how Americans live in the present day, how we live, treat people, behave, eat, talk, and more. Some examples of how Orphan Train shows American culture in the 1900's are the orphan trains that ran regularly, carrying thousands of children from cities to farmlands. This was common in the 1900's, along with discrimination towards immigrants. Vivian, being an immigrant, faced tormenting and lack of acceptance or belonging in her early years. Often in America in the 1900's, this was unfortunately the case. Some examples of how Orphan Train shows American culture in the present day are the technology that we have and use. In the book, cellphones and laptops were commonly used. Molly used her laptop to uncover many of the mysteries and to unfold some of the unanswered questions. In America, we use our technology everyday and it helps us to complete and solve everyday tasks, similar to the book. Also, Orphan Train strongly shows the importance of relationships. Molly and Vivian, although different, come together and form an unbreakable relationship. This reflects on American culture and shows that we have a diverse population and come together to form strong and stable relationships, despite our differences in gender, race, ethnicity, or background.

This is what the front cover of the novel looks like: