New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train, will visit West Kentucky Community and Technical College as the finale to the college’s 2015 One Book, One Campus, One Community Read.During Kline’s two-day visit March 31 and April1, she will share the story behind writing Orphan Train and her background and experiences as a novelist with audiences on the WKCTC campus.
On March 31, Kline will speak to the public at 7 p.m. in Crounse Hall, Room 101. She will also answer questions from the audience and sign copies of her book following the presentation. The next day Kline will speak to WKCTC and high school students at
11 a.m. in the Clemens Fine Arts Center. Both presentations are free and open to the public.
Orphan Train, which has spent over a year on the New York Times and USA Today best-sellers lists, is based on the 75 years between 1854 and 1929, when an estimated 250,000 orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children were placed with families throughout the United States and Canada during the Orphan Train Movement.
The book centers on Vivian Daly, a young Irish immigrant who was orphaned in New York City and then put aboard an orphan train to the Midwest, changing her life forever. In 2011, Vivian meets 17-year-old Molly Ayer, who is close to “aging-out” of the foster care system - something Vivian knows all too well. Molly helping the elderly Vivian clean out her attic that is packed with possessions and memories from the past is the only thing keeping Molly out of trouble in the juvenile system. Vivian and Molly learn they aren’t as different as they seem to be; they learn about friendship and second chances.
The One Book, One Campus, One Community Read project is a community-wide effort that promotes reading throughout the community with the goal of promoting regional participation in literacy-centered activities and improving literacy rates in the community.
For more information about Kline’s visit, Orphan Train, and the One Book, One Campus, One Community Read, visit westkentucky.kctcs.edu/Student_Life/OneBook.aspx