So as of this past Monday morning, I am officially the mom of a FIRST GRADER! This summer really flew by for some reason...Anyway - here's what I thought about this month's book club pick.
It was my turn to choose our book, so I wanted to pick something a little different than what I normally read (which is YA or Chick Lit). Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline caught my eye on Amazon; mainly because it was on the best sellers list and had great reviews. I'm not normally one to go for historical fiction, but I figured with over 15,000 positive reviews, it had to be somewhat good.
Molly Ayer is a seventeen year-old foster child close to "aging out" of the system. She agrees to help ninety-one year old Vivian Daly clean out her attic to aquire some community service hours and stay out of trouble. As they get to know each other, Vivan shares her memories of abruptly immigrating to New York from Ireland, then ending up on a train with hundreds of other orphaned children bound for the Midwest to start a new (not always better) life with adoptive families. Molly soon learns that as different as she thought she and Vivian were, they shared many similarities.
I had no idea this part of American history existed - these trains carried children to adoptive families for 75 years! To think that these children's lives were at the mercy of luck and chance blew me away. I flew through this book in about 3 days (which is unusual for me). I had to know what happened to Vivian and how she ended up from Ireland, to New York, to the Mid-West, and ultimately in Maine.
This is a great book and I highly recommend it - even if Historical Fiction isn't your "thing".
Have you read this? What did you think? Check out what the other BBBC members thought too!Michelyn: Brains, Beauty & Basketball
Ashley: If You Give A Girl A Ring
Heather: Love To Be Busy
Lisa: Uncommon Wife Life
Stephanie: The Wonky Brow
Stephanie from The Wonky Brow chose September's book - I Was Here by Gayle Forman. This is the first book I've read from this author, but I've heard great things about her. Her most popular novel is If I Stay, which has been made into a movie, and is also on my to-read list.
No comments:
Post a Comment