Orphan Train

I recently just finished reading 'Orphan Train' by Christina Baker Kline. This is the story of a young Irish immigrant who loses her family in a fire in NYC. After a brief stay at an orphanage she is put on the orphan train- a system set up to place orphans in mid-american farming communities. The first children that are adopted are babies, then the older boys because they can work hard on the farms. If the children do not find families to take them in, they are sent back to the orphanage. Most of the orphans are abused and mistreated in their new homes, and only rarely do they actually find loving families.

This novel jumps between the early 1900's and modern day, connecting two orphans in a beautiful way. More than once, I found myself crying over this book. If a book can bring me to tears- actual big fat messy tears, then it must be a pretty good read. I was way too emotionally involved with these characters haha. I really enjoyed this novel. If you need a good cry, a lesson on gratitude, or just a reminder to hold your loved ones close, then I highly recommend this book!

*Disclaimer* :There is some language- but not enough that I found it bothersome. I just trained my eyes to skip over the words that I didn't want in my head.