A Family Apart

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Summary: Very well written, poinant, and touching.
Review: I loved it and it made me cry. The compassion Mrs. Kelly shows for her children is overwhelming. The character portrayals were excellent.

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Summary: I loved it
Review: I read this book in school in 6th grade and it was one of the few that i really enjoyed. It was very sad and very powerful. Frances is amazing in what she does to keep her mothers promis and it is amazingg what there mother does for them even tough her children don't relize it yet

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Summary: A reader from UTAH February 17, 1999
Review: I think it was really sad because mrs.kelly sent her kids to the west to live with different family's. The part I like when Frances dressed up as a boy because she heard to people talking and they said familys in the west will more likely adopt boys because they can help on the farm. She seen her two other sisters in pretty dresses. They all miss there mother very much. they been on the train for a long time now. Frances was trying not show her brothers and sisters that she wants to cry because she miss here mother a hole lot.

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Summary: It was on of the best books I've read, and will read!
Review: I thought A Family Apart was a great book. It made me cry when Ma had to give up her children. Also when the "better" said "...do not talk to THOSE children." Joan Lowery Nixon has a very unique writting style and it touched my heart and my sister's, too.

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Summary: You really have to read the book!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I thought that A FAMILY APART was a really good book. It helped me to understand what a poor teenager's life was like in the mid 1800's. The story was mainly about a thirteen year old girl named Frances, who lived with her mother and five siblings in New York. After Frances' father died, the family lived in poverty. The mother worked at all hours of the day to support her family. Therefore,she never had time to properly care for her six children, so she sent them on an orphan train to St. Joseph's, Missouri to live with farm families who could feed them and care for them. The children were very upset to leave their mother. They were upset because they would be separated from their brothers and sisters also. Frances did however get placed in a home with her six year old brother, Petey. Frances learned to cope with, and love her new family. Frances had some very exciting adventures while she was living with her new family in Missouri. This book helps the reader understand love, sacrifice and trust. If I were you, I'd sacrifice a little bit of time to read A FAMILY APART.

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Summary: Fresh Start
Review: I thought that this novel was extremely well written. I actually did some research about orphan trains and I could tell that Nixon didn't just dream up the orphan train riders lifestyles. I think that Frances Mary Kelly (the main character) was very lucky to have a mother and a shelter. Most poor children at that time didn't have parents or a shelter. Until Charles Loring Brace founded the Children's Aid Society in 1853, children were living on the streets making their living as pick-pockets. He established the orphan trains to send homeless children west to find new families. In my educated opinion, I think that this book is great for a historical fiction report and also a good curl-up-with kind of book.

Rating:
Summary: Fresh Start
Review: I thought that this novel was extremely well written. I actually did some research about orphan trains and I could tell that Nixon didn't just dream up the orphan train riders lifestyles. I think that Frances Mary Kelly (the main character) was very lucky to have a mother and a shelter. Most poor children at that time didn't have parents or a shelter. Until Charles Loring Brace founded the Children's Aid Society in 1853, children were living on the streets making their living as pick-pockets. He established the orphan trains to send homeless children west to find new families. In my educated opinion, I think that this book is great for a historical fiction report and also a good curl-up-with kind of book.

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Summary: I could not put this book down
Review: I thought this book was great. I love reading books about history and this one was great, because the book was so true to life, that I felt I was part of the story. I work in a bookstore and I know I will be recommending this series to all of the customers. I plan on reading the next six books in the series

Rating:
Summary: A Family Apart
Review: In the narration, A Family Apart, each character has their own unique personality that expresses how they reacted in a variety of situations. The main character, Francis Mary, is extremely strong willed and can take on various responsibilities. Megan, the caring and gentle one, also can be strong in complicated situations. A free minded, diligent working boy by the name of Mike, tries his best to support his family. Danny, who can barely function without being by Mike's side stays calm in the face of danger. Finally, Petey and Peg, the youngest in the family, attempt their best to keep their family happy and absent from their everyday worries. A Family Apart expresses the survivalist spirit that can be found in every family.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Novel! One You Must Look Into!
Review: My mom bought me the orphan train adventures series a long time ago, and I never really read them because I wasn't that much into reading. But now, after I read this book, I am reading all the stories in this series 30 minutes a day! This would really be a good book to read.

The story is about a 13 year old girl named Frances Mary Kelly who lives with her mom and her brothers and sisters named Megan, Mike, Danny, Peg and Petey. The family is very poor and the mother realizes that she cannot afford to keep all of them. So, to solve that problem she sends them on an orphan train to live in the west with more wealthy families. Each of the children gets separated into different families and the second part of the story tells how Frances and Petey get along with their new family. I thought that the story was very interesting and when I finished one chapter I was so curious that I had to read more than one. What I also liked about the book was that it was very easy to understand what is happening. I have read many other books including Harry Potter where there are so many things that are happening at once that it's just to hard to keep track of everything so that's another good point of the story.

The other books in this series include: Caught In the Act, In the Face Of Danger, A Place To Belong, A Dangerous Promise, Keeping Secrets and Circle Of Love. The other books tell you the stories of the other kids and I also recommend them.

This was one of the best books I have read so far and I am going to read the whole series!!!