The #1 New York Times Bestseller
"A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to
illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of America's history.
Beautiful."--Ann Packer
Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota,
Orphan Train is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of second
chances, and unexpected friendship.
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 pure
luck. 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.
Seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer knows that a community service position
helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping
her out of juvenile hall. But as Molly helps Vivian sort through her
keepsakes and possessions, she discovers that she and Vivian aren't as
different as they appear. A Penobscot Indian who has spent her youth in
and out of foster homes, Molly is also an outsider being raised by
strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past.
