orphan train christina baker kline book review

Over the course of a wide-ranging interview, the author expressed satisfaction with the way the novel had been received by riders and their descendants, discussed the process of writing a young-adult version of the book, and speculated on the reason for the novel’s success. Kline also revealed a movie adaptation of “Orphan Train” has been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Her father was a historian who wrote dozens of books for university presses, where he did copious research.ĭespite the differences between writing non-fiction and fiction, Kline said father and daughter share similar research techniques, including a tendency to write copious notes in longhand. Both experiences gave her an ability to deal with others’ illnesses and losses differently than she previously could.

She experienced this herself shortly after “Orphan Train” was finished, when she was diagnosed with cancer and lost her mother. “A gift of difficulties, of times that we have been through trials, is that it gives you a window into other people and gives a way to connect,” Kline observed.

Similar traumas are what forged a bond between the novel’s main character, Niamh (who later goes by the names Dorothy and Vivian), an older woman who rode the orphan train as a girl, and a modern-day foster teen, Molly. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have found themselves on the orphan trains to begin with. One experience all riders shared was trauma.

Orphan train christina baker kline book review