What happened in the book Orphan Train?
It’s the story of two women who build an unexpected friendship: a 91-year-old woman with a hidden past as an orphan-train rider and a troubled teen with one last chance at redemption.
What happened at the end of orphan train?
The novel ends just after Vivian and Sarah make eye contact outside of Vivian’s house. Ballinger-Dix, Elizabeth. “Orphan Train Plot Summary.” LitCharts.
What is the theme of the orphan train?
Orphan Train tackles some pretty heavy themes, such as finding family and figuring out your identity. But in interviews, and on her blog, Kline says one of the major themes she wanted to tackle was rootlessness.
Who is the main character in Orphan Train?
Vivian Daly Vivian is one of the two main characters in the book. She was born in Ireland and immigrated to New York City with her family in 1929. Her family was killed in a fire and she was sent to the Children’s Aid Society. They put her on the Orphan Train which took her to Minnesota to a new life.
Is Orphan Train a true story?
Christina Baker Kline’s new novel, Orphan Train, is partially set in 1929, mere months before the stock market crash that would trigger the Great Depression. Kline’s book is fictional, but it’s based on the very true history of thousands of children shipped to the Midwest.
Who is Molly in Orphan Train?
Molly is one of the novel’s two protagonists. She is an intelligent, opinionated, and reflective seventeen-year-old girl who lives with her foster parents, Ralph and Dina Thibodeaus, at their home in Spruce Harbor, Maine.
Why does Molly leave Dina and Ralph’s home?
Her father was Penobscot Indian and believed in the traditions of his culture. She enjoys learning more about her culture in her history class. She also enjoys learning about Vivian’s past as they spend hours going through the boxes in her attic. After a fight with Dina, Molly is told to leave.
Who is Molly in orphan train?
What is the setting of orphan train?
All of the sections of Orphan Train set in present day take place in a fictional Maine town on Mount Desert Island called Spruce Harbor, which you also used as a setting for your earlier novel, The Way Life Should Be. You span many years in this novel.
Where did the Orphan Train take place?
The Orphan Train Movement was a supervised welfare program that transported orphaned and homeless children from crowded Eastern cities of the United States to foster homes located largely in rural areas of the Midwest.
What is the significance of Molly’s name in orphan train?
She goes back to using Niamh and is returned to being called Dorothy before the Nielsens ask her to take the name of their daughter, Vivian, who died of diphtheria. Molly herself was named for Molly Molasses, page 133, a famous Penobscot Indian.
Who is Niamh in orphan train?
She is the biological mother of Sarah Darnell, who she gave up for adoption. As a 91-year-old widow living a lonely life, Vivian finds peace by recounting the story of her life to Molly Ayer and cleaning out her attic together. Vivian/Niamh has red curly hair and freckles.