Bridie's Daughter: The Second Story in the Orphan Train Trilogy (Paperback)

~ Robert Noonan (Author)
Key Phrases: caber toss, clothes box, Robert Noonan, Main Street, New York City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From 1854 to 1929, more than 200,000 homeless children left New York City on orphan trains to find new lives across the country. Some found loving homes; others experienced physical and mental abuse. Bridie’s Daughter brings that world to life in this second novel in Robert Noonan’s Orphan Train Trilogy.

Bridie’s Daughter is an eye-opening tale that follows four teen-aged children who are filled with hope, concern and uncertainty, as they ride the rails to an unknown future. Once the train stops, however, it’s a roll of the dice where they’ll each end up.

Bridie McDonald, a wealthy spinster, finds in Catherine the daughter she has always wanted. Catherine learns to love Bridie and her new elegant home, but is concerned about Bridie’s relationship with Jack, her mentally challenged handyman.

Though most of the citizens of Newberry, Illinois, befriend these children, some are not so welcoming, believing all the orphans from New York City are bastards and should be treated as such.

About the Author

Robert Noonan moved from Chicago, Illinois to Hatfield, Wisconsin, where he completed his trilogy—Wildflowers, Bridie’s Daughter and Secrets. As a member of the Orphan Train Heritage Society of America, he eagerly reveals a little-known history about a desperate time for children of our past—the orphan train riders from 1854–1929.

Product Details

• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (August 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595436293
• ISBN-13: 978-0595436293
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #159,266 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Bridie's Daughter: The Second Story in the Orphan Train Trilogy, September 3, 2009

By	Peggy Nelson (Nixa Missouri) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Review of Bridie's Daughter

Mr. Noonan continues his story in this second book about Bridie who adopts one of the Orphan Train riders. This story continues the magic, love and mysteries that surround the characters in this book. Mr. Noonan has a way of presenting the story that will keep you reading, excited to see what will happen next ands not wanting to put the book down until you have finished.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0595436293/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title

5.0 out of 5 stars A page turner, March 23, 2008

By	RebeccasReads.com "Rebecca's Reads" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (3/08)

"Bridie's Daughter" is the second of three books in Robert Noonan's "Orphan Train Trilogy." This book begins on June 8th, 1899, in an orphanage in New York City where the children are preparing to ride an orphan train to the Midwest in the hopes that they will be chosen for adoption. Fourteen-year-old Catherine was one of the orphans on this train and she was drawn to, and grew close to, three other orphans that were around the same age as her: Monica, Brian, and Jason. At the train's first stop in Newberry, Illinois, Catherine, Brian and Monica were adopted by people waiting at the station. Catherine was adopted by Bridie MacDonald, a well-to-do woman who had never married, and Brian was adopted by Tom and Margaret Holmgren who were friends of Bridie. The people of Newberry had difficulty in accepting them as most thought that they were [...] children and shunned them. Despite that hurdle, Catherine settled into her new life well and grew closer and closer to Brian.

At first when I began reading this book none of the characters names were familiar and I thought that it was going to be a stand-alone book with the only tie-in to the previous novel being the orphan trains. However, I was incorrect in that assumption as the links began appearing when I least expected them. This novel contained a lot more surprises than the first book in the trilogy and I read it from cover to cover in one day because I could not wait to find out was going to happen next.

"Bridie's Daughter" is a definite page turner and skillfully written. The novel is very thought-provoking in that it really makes you think about the orphan trains of our past and the lives of the children who rode them. The author himself is a member of the Orphan Train Heritage Society of America and his knowledge of the history of this time period provides for a very realistic work of fiction. I am eager to begin reading the third and final book in the trilogy "Secrets."

5.0 out of 5 stars Teenage Orphans: Fears, Joys, and Sorrows, March 13, 2008

By	Shelia Bolt Rudesill "author of Precious Chi... (Wilmingon, NC) - See all my reviews

Bridie's Daughter: In the midst of this charming coming of age story which begins in 1898, Bridie McDonald's future daughter Catherine becomes fast friends with Brian and Monica. All three are fifteen-years-old and wards at the Society for Children's Orphanage in New York City. As fate would have it, the three are sent west on an Orphan Train together and are adopted into three homes in Newberry, Illinois. While Catherine and Brian are chosen to live in loving and affluent homes, Monica's fears of an unhealthy adoption are realized. All three have difficulties being accepted into the community until they meet Pina, a twelve-year-old girl adopted from an orphan train the previous year. Pina brings hope to the former orphans and their parents, and that hope sets Bridie McDonald into motion to plan for the children's acceptance into society. In a surprising reunion, Pina and Hillary, from Wildflowers, are reunited after being separated for over a year. As the group expands, their joys and sorrows increase setting up a variety of possibilities for a third novel.