Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline is historic fiction at its best. Baker Kline tells the story of Irish Catholic immigrant Niamh, later called Vivian, a young girl, orphaned in New York City in 1929 and sent on an "orphan train" to Minnesota to hopefully be adopted by a family there.
Between 1854-1929 orphan trains ran regularly from the East Coast to the Mid-West carrying thousands and thousands of children who we be taken to lives servitude and farm work. Some were lucky enough to end up with kind families who adopted them, but they were far removed from everything and everyone they knew.
Baker Kline has done her research well, even meeting with several 90 year old train riders still alive today. A beautifully written novel that highlights a little known part of American history. Recommended read.
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