Orphan Train
caught my eye on the New Books shelf. I had not heard about the orphan trains before and enjoyed gaining some insight through this story.
According to PBS’s The Orphan Trains, the Children’s Aid Society, a precursor to our modern-day foster care, arranged trips between 1854 and 1929 to relocate thousands of orphan children from the streets of New York to the Midwest. The organizers believed that farmers could use these homeless children as laborers, but hoped they would also treat them as part of their family and make sure they got an education.
Kline’s story is told through Molly and Vivian. Molly is an angry, misunderstood teen about to age out of the foster care system. She is arrested for stealing a book from the library and has to perform community service or go to jail. Her foster mother is fed up with her and doesn’t…
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