Orphan Train
By Christina Baker Kline
From the mid-1800s through 1929, children living in overcrowded New York City orphanages were boarded onto trains and sent west to be adopted. Some families genuinely wanted to raise a child (often infants); others were looking for extra hands to work their struggling farms (usually older boys). Either way, it was a way to clear the city streets of these orphans. This is the story of Vivian Daly, now 91, living in a big old house on the beautiful coast of Maine. As she grows older, she finds herself revisiting the past, especially once she meets Molly, a foster child who has lived in more homes than she can count. When Molly lands in trouble, her community service “punishment” is to help Vivian clean out her attic. From the start, Vivian recognizes something of herself in Molly and sees past the attitude to a misunderstood, intelligent and sensitive young lady. As Vivian opens up and shares her memories, the two forge an unlikely friendship, learning how to communicate and help each other heal. This beautifully-written novel is a fascinating slice of history. First published in 2013, it has remained one of my all-time favorites.
6:40 to Montreal
By Eva Jurczyk
A few years ago, Agatha wrote a bestseller. Now, as the world waits for her next novel, she faces the worst writer’s block imaginable. Life in Toronto has become difficult, and Agatha cannot stop thinking about a recent diagnosis that may end her life. Wanting to cheer her up and help unlock her words, Agatha’s husband gives her a train ticket from Toronto to Montreal. He imagines she will have uninterrupted hours aboard a luxury train to finally put her next story on paper – a desperately-needed writing retreat. On the train, Agatha’s mind will not settle. A repulsive man has insisted on switching seats, and her nemesis, who claims Agatha’s bestseller stole her identity, is coincidentally (?) on board. When a blizzard strands the train in the freezing Canadian woods, this locked-room mystery begins to unravel. As a writer, Agatha could not have asked for a juicer plot. Over the course of a few hours, this suspenseful journey and atmospheric winter weather will not allow you to look away. Having recently traveled cross-country by rail from Toronto to Vancouver, I can easily imagine the sweeping Canadian Rockies setting as the perfect backdrop for a murder mystery.
The Women on Platform Two
By Laura Anthony
In early 1970s Dublin, women couldn’t legally buy contraception. A few hours away, in Belfast, birth control could be purchased under British law. In May 1971, activists from the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement boarded what became known as the “contraceptive train,” traveling to buy birth control and bring it across the border. This protest is the historical spark behind this story. In 1969, Maura married a doctor. She left her job at the fancy Dublin department store and set out to be the perfect wife and mother. Even though their lives looked idyllic, Dr. Davenport was not who he appeared to be. In 2023, Saoirse (pronounced Seer-sha) runs out of her apartment, leaving her fiancé begging for answers. He is a wonderful man, but desperate to start a family, and Saoirse does not think motherhood is in her future. When Saoirse boards the train from Dublin to Belfast for a quick getaway, she meets Maura, who is taking her annual ride down memory lane to honor her beloved friends who bought that first ticket to freedom 52 years earlier. It is simply shocking that women are still fighting for these rights today.
#WorthWatching: “Train Dreams” is a quiet, atmospheric movie set in the American west in the early 1900s. It follows logger and railroad worker Robert Grainier as the railroads carve their way through the wilderness. Adapted from Denis Johnson’s 2002 novella, it’s less about plot and more about mood – a simple look at an ordinary man’s life as he faces love and loss. The gorgeous landscapes make it feel like a slice of frontier history has been brought to the screen. Check it out on Netflix.
