Summary

Orphan Train by Christian Baker Kline is the story of a surprising friendship between two women -- troubled seventeen year-old foster kid Molly Ayer and ninety-one year-old Vivian Daly. Like Molly, Vivian was orphaned as a young child. When Molly comes to Vivian's house to organize Vivian's attic as part of community service to avoid juvenile prison, Vivian helps Molly to understand life and to cope with her difficulties.

In a brief prologue, Vivian explains that she believes in ghosts, and that the spirits of the past are always around her. She explains that she suffered the deaths of many friends and loved ones in her life, and it is better to believe in ghosts than to believe those people are gone forever.

The main body of the narrative begins In Spruce Harbor, Maine in 2011, where Molly lives with foster parents Dina and...