Orphan Train delves into the intertwining lives of a troubled teenager, Molly, and an elderly woman, Vivian.
The book shares experiences of loss, displacement, and search for identity.
These Orphan Train quotes unveil the largely unknown historical event of the orphan trains.
Orphan trains relocated thousands of orphaned children from crowded coastal cities in the US to the Midwest.
Orphan Train Quotes With Page Numbers
“In portaging from one river to another, Wabanakis had to carry their canoes and all other possessions. Everyone knew the value of traveling light and understood that it required leaving some things behind. Nothing encumbered movement more than fear, which was often the most difficult burden to surrender.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Epigraph
“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, Prologue
“easier to assume that people have it out for you than to be disappointed when they don’t come through.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 8
“Molly learned long ago that a lot of the heartbreak and betrayal that other people fear their entire lives, she has already faced. Father dead. Mother off the deep end. Shuttled around and rejected time and time again. And still she breathes and sleeps and grows taller. She wakes up every morning and puts on clothes. So when she says it’s okay, what she means is that she knows she can survive just about anything.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 10
“Remember: eye contact,” he says. “And be sure to smile.”
“You are such a mom.”
“You know what your problem is?”
“That my boyfriend is acting like a mom?”~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Molly and Jack, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 12
“In Kinvara, poor as we were, and unstable, we at least had family nearby, people who knew us. We shared traditions and a way of looking at the world. We didn’t know until we left how much we took those things for granted.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly, New York City, 1929, Page 22
“…that the quickest relief will come in forgetting.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly, New York City, 1929, Page 28
“Mrs. Scatcherd raps Dutchy’s knuckles several times with a long wooden ruler, though it seems to me a halfhearted penalty. He barely winces, then shakes his hands twice in the air and winks at me. Truly , there isn’t much more she can do. Stripped of family and identity, fed meager rations, consigned to hard wooden seats until we are to be, as Slobbery Jack suggested, sold into slavery — our mere existence is punishment enough.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly / Niamh Power, New York Central Train, 1929, Page 44
“We are headed toward the unknown, and we have no choice but to sit quietly in our hard seats and let ourselves be taken there.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly, Union Station, Chicago, 1929, Page 45
“I’ll play your f****** game. But I don’t have to play by your rules.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator about Dina, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 49
“She should be grateful. Without Vivian she’d be sliding down a dark path toward nowhere good . But it kind of feels nice to nurture her resentment, to foster it. It’s something she can savor and control, this feeling of having been wronged by the world. That she has fulfilled her role as a thieving member of the underclass, now indentured to this genteel midwestern white lady, is too perfect for words.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator about Molly, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 53
“Upright and do right make all right.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator about what Vivian wrote on a piece of paper, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 55
“Let’s make a promise,” he says. “To find each other.” “How can we? We’ll probably end up in different places.” “I know.”
“And my name will be changed.” “Mine too, maybe. But we can try.” Carmine flops over, tucking his legs beneath him and stretching his arms, and both of us shift to accommodate him. “Do you believe in fate?” I ask. “What’s that again?”
“That everything is decided. You’re just—you know—living it out.” “God has it all planned in advance.” I nod. “I dunno. I don’t like the plan much so far.” “Me either.” We both laugh.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly and Dutchy, The Milwaukee Train, 1929, Pages 57-58
“You got to learn to take what people are willing to give.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly / Niamh Power, Albans, Minnesota, 1929, Page 77
“Turtles carry their homes on their backs.” Running her finger over the tattoo, she tells him what her dad told her: “They’re exposed and hidden at the same time. They’re a symbol of strength and perseverance.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator about Molly, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 88
“If you’re disorganized, you risk losing everything.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 89
“A lady wants to feel pretty, no matter how much money she has.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly / Niamh Power, Albans, Minnesota 1929-1930, Page 106
“As with Dutchy and Carmine on the train, this little cluster of women has become a kind of family to me. Like an abandoned foal that nestles against cows in the barnyard, maybe I just need to feel the warmth of belonging. And if I’m not going to find that with the Byrnes, I will find it, however partial and illusory, with the women in the sewing room.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly / Niamh Power, Albans, Minnesota 1929-1930, Page 107
“I feel myself retreating to someplace deep inside. It is a pitiful kind of childhood, to know that no one loves you or is taking care of you, to always be on the outside looking in. I feel a decade older than my years. I know too much; I have seen people at their worst, at their most desperate and selfish, and this knowledge makes me wary. So I am learning to pretend, to smile and nod, to display empathy I do not feel. I am learning to pass, to look like everyone else, even though I feel broken inside.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly, Albans, Minnesota, 1929-1930, Page 112
“So I am learning to pretend, to smile and nod, to display empathy I do not feel. I am learning to pass, to look like everyone else, even though I feel broken inside.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly / Niamh Power, Albans, Minnesota 1929-1930, Page 112
“I have seen people at their worst, at their most desperate and selfish, and this knowledge makes me wary. So I’m learning to pretend, to smile and nod, to display empathy I do not feel. I am learning to pass, to look like everyone else, even though I feel broken inside.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly, Albans, Minnesota, 1929-1930, Page 112
“Do you believe in spirits? Or ghosts?…Yes, I do. I believe in ghosts….They’re the ones who haunt us. The ones who have left us behind.”
“Vivian has come back to the idea that the people who matter in our lives stay with us, haunting our ordinary moments. They’re with us in the grocery store, as we turn the corner, chat with a friend. They rise up through the pavement; we absorb them through our soles.”
“The things that matter stay with you, seep into your skin.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Molly Ayer and The Narrator, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 138
“If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Gerald to Vivian, Hemingford, Minnesota, 1930, Page 140
“It is good to test your limits now and then, learn what the body is capable of, what you can endure.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly / Niamh Power as the narrator, Hemingford County, Minnesota, 1939, Page 153
“When Vivian describes how it felt to be at the mercy of strangers, Molly nods. She knows full well what it’s like to tamp down your natural inclinations, to force a smile when you feel numb. After a while you don’t know what your own needs are anymore. You’re grateful for the slightest hint of kindness, and then, as you get older, suspicious. Why would anyone do anything for you without expecting something in return? And anyway—most of the time they don’t. More often than not, you see the worst of people. You learn that most adults lie. That most people only look out for themselves. That you are only as interesting as you are useful to someone. And so your personality is shaped. You know too much, and this knowledge makes you wary. You grow fearful and mistrustful. The expression of emotion does not come naturally, so you learn to fake it. To pretend. To display an empathy you don’t actually feel. And so it is that you learn how to pass, if you’re lucky, to look like everyone else, even though you’re broken inside.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 170
“And so your personality is shaped. You know too much, and this knowledge makes you wary. You grow fearful and mistrustful. The expression of emotion does not come naturally, so you learn to fake it. To pretend. To display an empathy you don’t actually feel. And so it is that you learn how to pass, if you’re lucky, to look like everyone else, even though you’re broken inside.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 170
“She knows full well what it’s like to tamp down your natural inclinations, to force a smile when you feel numb. […] The expression of emotion does not come naturally, so you learn to fake it. To pretend. To display an empathy you don’t really feel. And so it is that you learn to pass, if you’re lucky, to look like everyone else, even though you’re broken inside.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator about Molly, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 170
“That you are only as interesting as you are useful to someone.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator about Vivian, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 170
“She knows full well what it’s like to tamp down your natural inclinations, to force a smile when you feel numb. […] The expression of emotion does not come naturally, so you learn to fake it. To pretend. To display an empathy you don’t really feel. And so it is that you learn to pass, if you’re lucky, to look like everyone else, even though you’re broken inside.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator about Molly, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 170
“And so it is that you learn how to pass, if you’re lucky, to look like everyone else, even though you’re broken inside.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 170
“Time constricts and flattens, you know. It’s not evenly weighted. Certain moments linger in the mind and others disappear.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 176
“people who matter in our lives stay with us, haunting our most ordinary moments.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator, Spruce Harbor, 2011, Page 177
“people who matter in our lives stay with us, haunting our most ordinary moments. They’re with us in the grocery store, as we turn a corner, chat with a friend. They rise up through the pavement; we absorb them through our soles.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator about Molly, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 177
“She has never tried to find out what happened to her family — her mother or her relatives in Ireland. But over and over, Molly begins to understand as she listens to the tapes, Vivian has come back to the idea that the people who matter in our lives stay with us, haunting our most ordinary moments. They’re with us in the grocery store, as we turn a corner, chat with a friend. They rise up through the pavement; we absorb them through our soles.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 177
“You can’t find peace until you fin fall the pieces.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator about Molly remembering a relationship expert on TV, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 177
“I like the assumption that everyone is trying his best, and we should all just be kind to each other.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly / Niamh Power as the narrator, Hemingford, Minnesota, 1930-1931, Page 192
“I am not glad she is dead, but I am not sorry she is gone.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly / Niamh Power as the narrator, Hemingford, Minnesota, 1930-1931, Page 199
“Girls from my graduating class come into the store brandishing solitaire diamonds like Legion of Honor medals, as if they’ve accomplished something significant—which I guess they think they have, though all I can see is a future of washing some man’s clothes stretching ahead of them.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly, Hemingford, Minnesota, 1935-1939, Page 205
“And even if she loses the charms, she thinks, they’ll always be a part of her. The things that matter stay with you, seep into your skin. People get tattoos to have a permanent reminder of things they love or believe or fear, but though she’ll never regret the turtle, she has no need to ink her flesh again to remember the past. She had not known the markings would be etched so deep.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator, Spruce Harbor, 2011, Page 214
“Forgive me if I’m wrong. But are you-were you-did you come here on a train from New York about ten years ago?”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly / Niamh Power, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1939, Page 227
“I have been so alone on this journey, cut off from my past. However hard I try, I will always feel alien and strange. And now I’ve stumbled on a fellow outsider, one who speaks my language without saying a word.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1939, Page 231
“He reaches over and touches my necklace. “You still have it. That gives me faith.”
“Faith in what?”
“God, I suppose. No, I don’t know. Survival.”~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly and Dutchy, Albans, Minnesota 1929, Page 234
“And I know, with the newfuond clarity of being in a relationship myself, that my own parents were never happy together, and probably never would have been, whatever the circumstances”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly / Niamh Power as the narrator, Hemingford, Minnesota, 1940-1943, Page 239
“I love you,” he writes again and again. “I can’t bear to live without you. I’m counting the minutes until I see you.” The words he uses are the idioms of popular songs and poems in the newspaper. And mine to him are no less cliched. I puzzle over the onionskin, trying to spill my heart onto the page. But I can only come up with the same words, in the same order, and hope the depth of feeling beneath them gives them weight and substance. I love you. I miss you. Be careful. Be safe.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly / Niamh Power, Hemingford, Minnesota, 1940-1943, Page 243
“I learned long ago that loss is not only probable but inevitable. I know what it means to lose everything, to let go of one life and find another. And now I feel, with a strange, deep certainty, that it must be my lot in life to be taught that lesson over and over again.
Lying in that hospital bed I feel all of it: the terrible weight of sorrow, the crumbling of my dreams. I sob uncontrollably for all that I’ve lost – the love of my life, my family, a future I’d dared to envision. And in that moment I make a decision. I can’t go through this again. I can’t give myself to someone completely only to lose them. I don’t want, ever again to experience the loss of someone I love beyond reason.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly / Niamh Power, Albans, Minnesota 1943, Page 246
“I learned long ago that loss is not only probable but inevitable. I know what it means to lose everything, to let go of one life and find another. And now I feel, with a strange, deep certainty, that it must be my lot in life to be taught that lesson over and over again.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly / Niamh Power as the narrator, Hemingford, Minnesota, 1930-1931, Page 246
“I learned long ago that loss is not only probably but inevitable.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly / Niamh Power, Albans, Minnesota 1943, Page 246
“My entire life has felt like chance. Random moments of loss and connection. This is the first one that feels, instead, like fate.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Vivian Daly / Niamh Power as the narrator, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1939, Page 246
“I did love him. But I did not love him like I loved Dutchy: beyond reason. Maybe you only get one of those in a lifetime, I don’t know. But it was all right. It was enough.”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, The Narrator, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 250
“So is it just human nature to believe that things happen for a reason – to find some shred of meaning even in the worst experiences?”
~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Molly Ayer, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 265
“So is it just human nature to believe that things happen for a reason — to find some shred of meaning even in the worst experiences?” Molly asks when Vivian reads some of these stories aloud.
“It certainly helps,” Vivian says.”~Christina Baker Kline, Orphan Train, Molly and Vivian, Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, Page 265