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Orphan Train is an unfortunate train wreck of generic, formulaic, historical fiction plotting and all the subtlety and nuance of a Mack truck. It's got a great premise - the orphan trains were a real part of American history. Orphaned children were loaded up on trains by well-intentioned Children's Aid workers and marched off at various stops in the midwest and west where families would look them over and decide whether to keep them as foster children or eventually adopt them. It's not too much of a stretch to figure out how many were treated.

And that's about all that is good about this book. Both the present day story and the historical story both suffer from ridiculous cardboard characters and plot situations that are entirely predictable and cliched. 2 stars only for the setting and the potential of the book. Goodreads needs half stars to more accurately rate books.

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Read 31.9k reviews from the world's largest community for readers. This is an alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780061950728, found here. The author of Bir...

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"All children, except one, grow up."
-Peter Pan

"A shadow. Then, another. And another. Another and another. Hundreds, thousands of ghost boys standing, ever still, looking up, through the window into our souls.
Do I have a soul still?
'I don't understand?'
'These are your... our people.'
'Black boys,' Sarah whispers, then clamps her hand over her mouth... I turn from him and Sarah. I look down. Hundreds and hundreds of shadow boys. A heart-wrenching crew. Army strong. No, zombie apocalypse strong. St...more

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"All children, except one, grow up."-Peter Pan "A shadow. Then, another. And another. Another and another. Hundreds, thousands of ghost boys standing, ever still, looking up, through the window into our souls.Do I have a soul still?'I don't understand?''These are your... our people.' 'Black boys,' Sarah whispers, then clamps her hand over her mouth...

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The sky is dark blue fading into light blue, with weightless cotton fluffs floating listlessly, and a golden flower, centre staged, in full bloom, graThe sky is dark blue fading into light blue, with weightless cotton fluffs floating listlessly, and a golden flower, centre staged, in full bloom, gracing all with its light, caressing each with a warm embrace... ...more (less)

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The sky is dark blue fading into light blue, with weightless cotton fluffs floating listlessly, and a golden flower, centre staged, in full bloom, graThe sky is dark blue fading into light blue, with weightless cotton fluffs floating listlessly, and a golden flower, centre staged, in full bloom, gracing all with its light, caressing each with a warm embrace...

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Yes, I do feel the intended audience is other white people who wonder why poor Midwestern whites vote Republican and contrary to their own needs. Yes, I do feel the intended audience is other white people who wonder why poor Midwestern whites vote Republican and contrary to their own needs. Kumari de Silva

And although I am not all the way done with the book from the first half I would say is one weakness of the premise is that the author fails to note the people in charge, i.e. the rich white politicians, the makers and distributors of guns, the leaders of the NRA, the designers of the opioid crises - - many of them were white too, and what about those people ? They do not seem to be dying of whiteness. . .

The book does bring up some interesting and very, very sad points - nothing new, but very sad ones such as: many of these poor whites vote against their own best interest because they are motived by hatred of people whom they perceive as "other" When you think about the fact that these poor Midwestern whites are literally, actually, physically dying, dying horrible deaths, rather than see the "others" as not so bad, that's pretty sad(less)
And ...more

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Yes, I do feel the intended audience is other white people who wonder why poor Midwestern whites vote Republican and contrary to their own needs. Yes, I do feel the intended audience is other white people who wonder why poor Midwestern whites vote Republican and contrary to their own needs.

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This is a work of fiction, not historical fiction. North and South Carolina didn't have the political structure described in the book. Whitehead is usThis is a work of fiction, not historical fiction. North and South Carolina didn't have the political structure described in the book. Whitehead is using the story of Cora's escape to get at the multitude of ways that blacks, in particular, have been dehumanized and mistreated by whites throughout the history of this country. A literal railroad is a literal representation of the darkness of the American journey for blacks and other people of color who were dispossessed and abused. One of the white characters (Lumbley?) speaks of how you can really only see American by train, but, as a white person, he has the freedom to travel without fear, with the opportunity to look out at the passing scenery and see America in all its glory and potential. As an enslaved woman who, even after escaping from her owner is never really free, Cora can't see all of that. It is only at the end, as she finally has a chance to truly be free (or as free as a black woman could be) that she can travel above ground. ...more

Another reviewer also pointed out that the mystery of who built the literal railroad, without the knowledge and under the feet of the white majority keeping slaves in bondage, is a powerful metaphor of how much slaves did for America, and how much of it is hidden.

When I started the novel, I didn't understand why the railroad was literal, but I get it now (or, it's more accurate to say, I get at least a portion of what Whitehead intended).(less)

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This is a work of fiction, not historical fiction. North and South Carolina didn't have the political structure described in the book. Whitehead is usThis is a work of fiction, not historical fiction. North and South Carolina didn't have the political structure described in the book.

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Laura, you know you don't really want an answer to your very rude question. As an immigrant and now citizen of this country I can tell you with certaiLaura, you know you don't really want an answer to your very rude question. As an immigrant and now citizen of this country I can tell you with certainty- I did not want to immigrate here. I did so because of Colonization and Western economic policy that was enforced in Latin America which ruined our political system. Immigration is not a matter of the 'American Dream' as the media has told you, it's a matter of economic displacement. Why don't you go back to Europe? Nancy Vegas...more (less)

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Laura, you know you don't really want an answer to your very rude question. As an immigrant and now citizen of this country I can tell you with certaiLaura, you know you don't really want an answer to your very rude question.

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Raskolnikov or Rodia is an incredibly complex character. He faces inner turmoil that manifests itself into the world and people around him. I won't goRaskolnikov or Rodia is an incredibly complex character. He faces inner turmoil that manifests itself into the world and people around him.

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I've read both now (finished Midnight yesterday), and while I liked both I prefer Higginbotham.I've read both now (finished Midnight yesterday), and while I liked both I prefer Higginbotham.
Part of the reason for this is the balance; I thought P
Part of the reason for this is the balance; I thought Plokhy spent too much space/time on Ukrainian intellectuals/writers reaction to the accident and too little on the cleanup and containment of the exclusion zone(barely covered by Plokhy). While I can see that the intellectual angle lead to political changes, and isn't unimportant, weighed up against the containment efforts...I think that warrants more attention on overall (I almost skipped the last parts of Plokhy's book).
And, Higginbotham has more extensive sources and bibliography (almost exhaustive). Also interesting, Higginbotham and Plokhy portray Chernobyl manager Bryukhanov quite differently IMO.
So, while I enjoyed both, if I would have to recommend one, I'd go for Higginbotham, which I found more balanced, ultimately more readable and better sourced.(less) ...more

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I've read both now (finished Midnight yesterday), and while I liked both I prefer Higginbotham.I've read both now (finished Midnight yesterday), and while I liked both I prefer Higginbotham.Part of the reason for this is the balance; I thought PPart of the reason for this is the balance; I thought Plokhy spent too much space/time on Ukrainian intellectuals/writers reaction to the accident and too little on the cleanup and containment of the exclusion zone(barely covered by Plokhy).

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TOTAL READING TIME: 4 hours, 33 minutes.

As I said in my original review, this isn't the first YA book published by a major company I've read that was written by a Filipino author with Filipino lead(s). This is actually the third book--the first one being Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz, and the second one being The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi (both of which I recommend).

But this is the first book I've read written by a Filipino author with Filipino leads that is largely set in th...more

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☘Misericordia☘ ~ The Serendipity Aegis ~ ⚡ϟ⚡ϟ⚡⛈ ✺❂❤❣

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TOTAL READING TIME: 4 hours, 33 minutes. As I said in my original review, this isn't the first YA book published by a major company I've read that was written by a Filipino author with Filipino lead(s).

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This book is shocking, loving, groundbreakingly impressive, beautifully written. I read through it without breathing, I mean I just had to know what was coming on the next page, and cried several times. Without a doubt one of the best books, if not the best, I read, ever...

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This book is shocking, loving, groundbreakingly impressive, beautifully written. I read through it without breathing, I mean I just had to know what was coming on the next page, and cried several times. Without a doubt one of the best books, if not the best, I read, ever...