"Orphan Train" Book Club Ideas Part 2

“I've come to think that's what heaven is- a place in the memory of others where our best selves live on.” 
― Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline is a book that has many themes. There is the theme of foster care, adoption, family history, unexpected relationships, inhumane acts of violence and of course the train that took children from large cities to be adopted by families in the midwest to be more like indentured servants then a part of a new family. We had so much to talk about and even some tears were shed. It was an emotional night because of the book and because of how the book touched so close to home in some cases. I think it is so interesting that the program that started the Orphan Train is still up and running in New York City. Of course they aren’t shipping children off to be used anymore. 

Delicious Dish : My Best Clam Chowder

Okay, so I fibbed.  It's not completely MY best clam chowder recipe but I did made several modifications after this month's book club for Orphan Train (by Christina Baker Kline)  to make it worthy of the chowders I remember back home in Southern California (you can find the original recipe here). 

 ...and I know what you're thinking.  Clam chowder? Whoa there.  Red light. That's where some of your eyes go glossy and you head over to another recipe.

I get it.

Any new recipe that has seafood or meat has my heart pounding and all sorts nervous too.  I'm more of a banana-zucchini bread/oatmeal chocolate chip/pumpkin pie kind of girl myself.

But maybe you're trying to get out of your comfort zone, away from your old boring recipes, or even getting more of an adventurous palate...there's every reason to make this chowder.  It's not "fishy" at all (if you have an aversion to seafood) and it is an insanely easy recipe that no one can screw up...except if you don't follow the most important golden rule below:

"Orphan Train" Book Club Ideas Part 1

Have you read this incredible story about our history in America? I had no idea that this happened with orphans in America.Some of the food ideas are from the book like the "Terry's Famous Chowder"  but most of this book took place during the great depression so food was scarce and there was no way I was eating squirrel as the main dish. So we improvised. How perfect was it to put the toy train around the food! Read on to see what we put together.

Book Review for "Orphan Train" {by Christina Baker Kline}

Title of the Book: The Orphan Train

Author: Christina Baker Kline
Publisher: William Marrow
Number of Pages: 288
Year Published: 2014
Reading Level: YA +
Genre: Fiction

Summary: Nearly eighteen, Molly Ayer knows she has one last chance. Just months from "aging out" of the child welfare system, and close to being kicked out of her foster home, a community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping her out of juvie and worse.

Vivian Daly has lived a quiet life on the coast of Maine. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past. As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly discovers that she and Vivian aren't as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.

The closer Molly grows to Vivian, the more she discovers parallels to her own life. A Penobscot Indian, she, too, is an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past. As her emotional barriers begin to crumble, Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life - answers that will ultimately free them both.

Rich in detail and epic in scope, Orphan Train is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of second chances, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are.

Our Star Rating: 

Our book club picks for 2016 are...

It's always difficult (understatement) when we choose our books to read for the next year, especially when I make sure our selection has a mix of: Fiction, Young Adult, Classics, Non Fiction and Historical Fiction. 

It's a balancing act to find books that we really want to read along with books that stretch my members outside of their usual reading comfort zones. But, I think we achieved the impossible and created a fabulous book line up for next year and I'm excited to read and discuss EVERY SINGLE one of these books!!