ORPHAN TRAIN was the May 2014 pick in my online book club, The Reading Cove. Many members loved and raved about it, so I'm sorry to say I was pretty underwhelmed.
The story felt redundant after reading THE CHAPERONE by Laura Moriarty a while back, which first introduced me to the history of orphan trains to the Midwest. This book added nothing new to that premise, so I found it largely predictable; and the fictional train rider whose story is at the center of it, Vivian, to be a pretty bland main character as a result.
The storyline of the wayward, foster home teen named Molly going to help Vivian clean her attic and stroll down memory lane, read like such a cliché. Stevie Wonder saw the ending coming years ago! There were no surprises in the story, and nothing that really ever got my interest.
So while ORPHAN TRAIN was well-written, it was a dull and flavorless read to me. Guess it needed better seasoning. I give it a C+.
The story felt redundant after reading THE CHAPERONE by Laura Moriarty a while back, which first introduced me to the history of orphan trains to the Midwest. This book added nothing new to that premise, so I found it largely predictable; and the fictional train rider whose story is at the center of it, Vivian, to be a pretty bland main character as a result.
The storyline of the wayward, foster home teen named Molly going to help Vivian clean her attic and stroll down memory lane, read like such a cliché. Stevie Wonder saw the ending coming years ago! There were no surprises in the story, and nothing that really ever got my interest.
So while ORPHAN TRAIN was well-written, it was a dull and flavorless read to me. Guess it needed better seasoning. I give it a C+.
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