Molly Ayer

The book alternates between the stories of two women. One is a ninety one year old Irish immigrant named Vivian Daly who was sent west on an orphan train in the late 1920s. The second is Molly Ayer, a seventeen year old who is living in the foster care system. Molly has a brush with the law and begins to help Vivian go through some old trunks and boxes that she has in her attic as her community service project. The women find that though they may be separated by many years in age their stories are similar. The main themes in this book are trust and perseverance.

Response: This is one of the best books that I have read in a long time. The writer Christina Kline does a wonderful job of shifting the narrative back and forth between the two main characters, Molly and Vivian. In many books where the narrative shifts it is jarring and often hard to follow, not with this novel. The two stories are woven perfectly to create one whole story.

This story is layered with complex interactions and historical information. The connection that Molly and Vivian make over the course of the story is life changing for them both. The

There are so many elements in this story that translate directly into a classroom setting. The themes are universal and any student can relate to them whether boy or girl. This novel is fast paced. The chapters are relatively short and allow for easy reading. This would be a great story to use as a coordinating teaching activity with the American history class. Another reason this book would be good to teach in the classroom is that it shows diversity. Vivian is an Irish immigrant and Molly is Native American. I also think that studying a book that has strong female characters is important. So many books that are read in the classroom setting focus on male characters. It is important to try and balance the literature that is read to show the most diversity for the