Orphan Train First Reaction

 

 

The minute that I started reading Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline I was hooked. I managed to read ahead the first night and ended up being ahead of my classmates. The two part plots, one current one in the past, helped keep me interested in reading because it was something new and it wasn't one long, continuous plot. I personally enjoyed Vivian's chapters more than Molly's. Vivian's took part in the past and were in a different time period, which I enjoyed because I like reading about history. The chapters that were about Molly I found to be a little boring and a little too dull and whiny.

The history and story line in this novel was a little crazy to read about. I never knew that orphans were put onto a train and transported to new homes (which for many meant work). I enjoyed learning about this part of history and I now know something I probably never would have if I didn't read.

The strengths of this book are the two character plot. It's like reading two separate stories at once and both characters had different personanlities so each chapter was something new. I enjoyed that Baker Kline was able to have the chapters change from character to character so you weren't reading about the same person for too long. This was able to keep me from getting bored quickly because something new was always happening.

I honestly cannot think of a weakness for this novel. It was a little long, but every detail that was written about was important and tied into the story somehow. I enjoyed reading this book and would reccomend it to anyone.

Crime Fiction

For my entire life, I have had a love for crime fiction/mystery type books (growing up, the Nancy Drew series was my favoirte and I still to this day collect the books). Crime fiction novels can be considered one of my favorite genre because I like not knowing what might happen and having a plot twist occur. The component of mystery is the main reason I enjoy crime fiction novels. I love being stumped and trying to decifer clues.The main definition of crime fiction is "the literary genre that fictionalises crimes, their detection, criminals, and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred".  

The genre that I read with my small group was crime fiction. We read Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. I personally was very excited to actually read this novel; I have many friends who watch the Dexter series on television and I heard many great reviews. I honestly believed that I was going to love this novel and might even be conviced to watch the sereis. But, my overall opinion of the novel changed after reading one single page. I hated the book, and I had a struggle reading it all the way through. I usually love crime fiction novels, the suspense and the mystery of books keep me going and make me want to contiune reading. Reading this book for me was almost like a burden, I didn't look forward to reading every day. By the time we finished the novel, I was so excited to return it to the library and not have to deal with it every again (sorry Dexter fans).

Another crime fiction novel is The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I have never read this book, but I have thought about it after seeing movie trailers. This novel has components of mystery and crime, which sounds perfect for me. This novel is part of a series, as well is a popular movie. I personally tend to like books that are turned into a movie because I like to compare the two together. Many novels that were turned into movies I like better than the films, I'm excited to find out how I feel about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and hopefully I enjoy it.