Based on historical events, Christiana Baker Kline's Orphan Train is told through the point of view of fictional characters with similar backgrounds: They were both orphaned, and their lives were put into the hands of the foster care system. Despite the eighty years between Molly and Vivian, the parallels between their stories are staggering. Their experiences reveal the consequences of a system that tries to do what is best for these parentless children, but question whether the results override the intentions. Students will learn about this little-known event in American history and determine for themselves how much the foster care system has improved over the majority of a century.
Baker Kline also places her characters into situations in which they much deal with the unfamiliarity of a new country on their own and must overcome the constant threat of losing their identity. Students can discuss the significance of identity as well as the implications for this issue's continued relevancy, most notably the resulting feelings of isolation that both Molly and Vivian eventually subject themselves to.
Summary
Seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer is presented with a choice: go to a juvenile hall facility and allow her transgressions to leave a permanent mark on her record, or put in some community service hours by helping the widow Vivian Daly clean out her attic. As Molly begrudgingly opens the boxes containing items from Vivian's past, she learns that not only is Vivian an orphan like herself, but both have been subject to the unreliable, and at times cruel, system society has in place for dealing with displaced children. The more objects Molly dusts off, the further Vivian divulges about her past, and the novel's setting shifts from modern-day Maine to the pre-depression era orphan train as it departs the station in New York City and travels to the farm fields of Minnesota. Just like Molly, twelve year-old Vivian (then Niamh), is taken in, abused, rejected, and must constantly wonder if anyone will ever want her. By the time the attic is set right, Molly has taken it upon herself to do a little research, and is not only able to find Vivian's long-lost family, but finds one of her own.
Content Warning
This novel contains child abuse, racial prejudice, instances of profanity, and some sexual content, including rape.
Movies
A 1979 film titled Orphan Train provides a fictionalized account set in 1854. The movie was directed by William A. Graham and stars Jill Eikenberry and Kevin Dobson. Kline’s novel is currently in the process of being adapted by Broad Green Pictures.