Christina Baker Klines’s novel “The Orphan Train” takes its name from the trains than ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest between 1854 and 1929, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by pure luck.
Whether you can’t wait to read the book, or already read and loved it, here are five more books to explore about people who struggle with their hidden histories, their secrets, and their futures:
The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
St during World War II in Germany, this is the story of: a foster girl living outside of Munich, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery as Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books.
White Oleander
by Janet Fitch
The struggle to build an authentic identity lies at the heart of Astrid’s life as a foster child in Los Angeles after her poet mother, who has kept Astrid isolated from the world, is imprisoned for murder.
Calling Me Home
by Julie Kibler
Eighty-nine-year-old Isabelle McAllister has a favor to ask her hairdresser Dorrie Curtis: drop everything and drive from Arlington, Texas, to a funeral in Cincinnati. Tomorrow. Dorrie, fleeing problems of her own, agrees. It’s a journey that changes both their lives, as she learns Isabelle’s tale of a forbidden relationship and its tragic consequences– a tale that just might help Dorrie find her own way.
The Burgess Boys
by Elizabeth Strout
Catalyzed by a nephew’s thoughtless prank, a pair of brothers confront painful psychological issues surrounding the freak accident that killed their father when they were boys, a loss linked to a heartbreaking deception that shaped their personal and professional lives.
Language of Flowers
by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Discovering the symbolic meanings of flowers while languishing in the foster-care system, eighteen-year-old Victoria is hired by a florist when her talent for helping others is discovered, a situation that leads her to confront a painful secret from her past.