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.