You Belong Here Now: A Novel

Written by Dianna Rostad

Narrated by Courtney Patterson

“It’s so hard to believe that this is a debut novel! It’s an historic novel. Talk about hitting me on so many good points.” –John Busbee, The Culture Buzz, weekly on www.KFMG.org

“Set against the harsh backdrop of Montana, You Belong Here Now is a novel as straightforward and powerful as the characters who populate it. I love this book, and I guarantee you won’t find a finer debut work anywhere.” — William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of This Tender Land

“You Belong Here Now distills the essence of the American spirit in this uplifting story. Perfect for book clubs looking to discuss the true meaning of family.” — Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of The Kitchen House

In this brilliant debut reminiscent of William Kent Krueger's This Tender Land and Lisa Wingate's Before We Were Yours, three orphans journey westward from New York City to the Big Sky Country of Montana, hoping for a better life where beautiful wild horses roam free.

Montana 1925: Three brave kids from New York board the orphan train headed west. An Irish boy who lost his whole family to Spanish flu, a tiny girl who won’t talk, and a volatile young man who desperately needs to escape Hell’s Kitchen. They are paraded on platforms across the Midwest to work-worn folks and journey countless miles, racing the sun westward. Before they reach the last rejection and stop, the kids come up with a daring plan, and they set off toward the Yellowstone River and grassy mountains where the wild horses roam.

Fate guides them toward the ranch of a family stricken by loss. Broken and unable to outrun their pasts in New York, the family must do the unthinkable in order to save them. 

Nara, the daughter of a successful cattleman, has grown into a brusque spinster who refuses the kids on sight. She’s worked hard to gain her father’s respect and hopes to run their operation, but if the kids stay, she’ll be stuck in the kitchen.

Nara works them without mercy, hoping they’ll run off, but they buck up and show spirit, and though Nara will never be motherly, she begins to take to them. So, when Charles is jailed for freeing wild horses that were rounded up for slaughter, and an abusive mother from New York shows up to take the youngest, Nara does the unthinkable, risking everything she holds dear to change their lives forever.

“From the moment the reader steps on the train with these orphaned children, You Belong Here Now shows how beauty can emerge from even the darkest places.” —Erika Robuck, national bestselling author of Hemingway’s Girl

“Rostad’s bighearted debut is full of surprises, and warm with wisdom about what it means to be family.” —Meg Waite Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Train to London

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Apr 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063027916

Dianna Rostad

Dianna Rostad was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. Her parents and extended family come from the ranches of Montana and the farms of Arkansas. Dianna raised three kind, human beings, and when they began to test their wings, she took to writing with a passion, completing Southern Methodist University Writer’s Path program in 2009. A favorite task of her creative endeavors is the discovery and research of people and places where her novels are set. She has traveled extensively to pursue the last artifacts of our shared history and breathe life, truth, and hope into her novels. Now living in Florida, Dianna continues to write big-hearted novels for wide audiences everywhere. 

Reviews for You Belong Here Now

[Amy Webster · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book about acceptance and what makes a family in the 1920’s. This is a great read about kids who run away from the orphan train and find a family who loves and cares for them on a ranch in Montana. It’s a great debut book from this author and I look forward to reading more of her books.

[Becki Basley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

You belong here now by Dianna Rostad
(Scribd audiobook )
The time is 1925. Three orphans meet on an orphan train traveling from New York to Montana. They decide to escape the train and go out on their own. Posing as three siblings they find refuge at a ranch but the ranch owners daughter has her suspicions. A book that could be a hall Mark episode except not everything ends in Exactly perfectly. A great read overall but Im not sure id buy it.

[Anita Little · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A nice “Hallmark/Walton” kind of story. Easy to listen to while working a puzzle.

[thewanderingjew_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

You Belong Here Now, Dianna Rostad, author; Courtney Patterson, narratorThe year is 1925 and a train is carrying orphans from New York to Montana, making several stops on the way. At each stop, the children being offered for adoption, disembark to be looked over like animals available for purchase, rather than children simply in need of a loving home, a place where they can thrive far better than in an orphanage or on the streets.Right before the last stop in Montana, three orphans who had failed to be selected, two males (14 and supposedly 16) and a female (around 7), jump from the train to avoid being sent back to New York and the awful life they had led before. Many families were afraid to adopt the orphans because of stories of the danger they might present to the families. Opal was a tiny, timid girl. She rarely spoke and bore scars on her body because of a parent that had neglected and abused her. She was a runaway. No one chose her because she did not look big enough or strong enough to perform the tasks the family needed or wanted done. Patrick, was a gentle, honest, boy originally from Cork, Ireland. His father had been killed in the war, and his mom had died from disease. No one wanted him because he didn’t seem strong enough to do chores and because he was Irish. His accent gave him away, and prejudices were very much alive and well. The oldest boy, Charles, had an obvious temper to which the bruises on his face attested. His father had also been a soldier who had been killed, after which, his mom had become an alcoholic. She neglected him and he abandoned her. He was very large for the age he gave, and his physical injuries, obviously the result of a fight, scared away potential adoptive parents. He was also thought to be a poor choice for adoption because he could not work long before his 18th birthday would arrive, after which they would have to pay him a wage. He kept his real background a secret and thought nothing of lying to protect himself and the others. When they jumped from the moving train, Patrick was injured and unable to walk well. Charles would not abandon him so he attempted to steal a horse. He stumbled on the Stewart’s farm and got caught in the act. Horse thieves were punished severely. Although Nara, the daughter of the farmer and his wife wanted to turn him in immediately, her mother insisted on feeding the starving boy first and got him to talk. Although the story he tells is not completely true, she is taken in by his tale, as is her father. The three set out to rescue the rest of them. Instead of turning them in, the father decides they should work off the crime. He needed help on the farm. Nara, together with the American Indian, Jim, who works for them, assigns them tasks. The mother takes to the little girl. Nara does not trust the older boy. She is an angry young woman who seems unable to truly care for others. She is often mean to the children. Her mother is only too eager to care for them. She misses the daughter she lost a decade before, to a terrible accident when animals stampeded. She also misses her son who had left home to seek a career in New York. All three children were eager to be part of a family and eager to help, even when they were sometimes mistrusted, they soldiered on. When it became known that the sheriff was searching for three children who had escaped from the orphan train, the true plight of the children is revealed, along with the grudges many townspeople have harbored through the years. How they all react and resolve their individual plights and needs is the subject of the story, and it is tenderly told and heartrending to read as it illustrates different kinds of love, the sometimes misplaced need for revenge and the basic beauty of Montana and what it has to offer to those who could work hard and appreciate it. It contrasts the hustle bustle of the big city to the quiet, not always gentle, nature of the more remote areas.The novel is about orphaned children whose worth was undervalued, but adults, some of whose hearts were in the right place in their effort to help them to have a better life, sometimes consigned them to lives of abuse. These children were transported to cities where they were offered to families that could qualify to care for them. These families signed contracts, not always honored, to provide them with a home, treat them like family and make sure that they received an appropriate education. Often, however, examined and picked over like property, some of them were sent from the frying pan into the fire. Some families just wanted extra help on their farms, some wanted help in the kitchen, some sexually abused them, and some overworked them and did not offer them a better life at all. The prejudices of society that exist today, existed then, as well, toward those they neither understood nor wished to understand. As the story is told, one hopes that it will have a fairy tale ending. In some ways it does, but in other ways, the prejudices of the day cannot be overcome.As the story is told, forbidden love, betrayal, and bitterness are married to loyalty, devotion, and the appreciation of the beauty of the wilderness along with the dangers of the remote, wild aspects of Montana.

[gwnfkt12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

You Belong Here Now is the story of 3 orphans who find themselves on a cattle ranch in Montana in the 1920s. It's the story of family coming together in spite of their differences, growing and learning how to be part of something larger, and healing from past wounds. It's a beautifully told story with vivid descriptions and ambitious characters. Full of rich historical insight and a clear love for the ranges of Montana.

[nancynova · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Have the tissues handy for the latter part of the book. Charles, Patrick and Opal are the last kids on the Orphan Train from NYC heading west. Unrelated, they band together and jump the train before the last stop, because if they are not chosen, they will be sent back. Charles breaks into a barn, intending to steal a horse because younger Opal and Patrick can't walk any farther, but is caught by Nara. When she lets him stay to work for R&B, he gathers up his "siblings" to live with the Stewarts. Lot in family dynamics with the Stewarts, hardships of Montana in 1925, and the 3 unrelated kids becoming true siblings and finding a forever home.

[erinclark_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In 1925 three orphans from New York are placed on an Orphan Train by the Children's Aid Society to be adopted out west. As the train continues its westward journey towards Montana all but these three children, Charles, Patrick and tiny Opal are chosen by families. None of them wants to return to homelessness and danger in New York and they jump the train and make a run for it. They end up at a secluded cattle ranch run by the Stewart family. Nara Stewart, the daughter is a curmudgeonly middle aged spinster who would rather be in the saddle roping steers than working in the kitchen. She and her father basically run the ranch as her brother John left the family farm to be an artist. Robert Stewart (Papa) wants his son to return to run the ranch. Nara knows this will never happen and even though she is more than capable her father refuses to let her take the reins because she is a woman. Nara wants nothing to do with the three orphans and suspects they are runaways. But Mama Stewart falls in love with little Opal and over time Nara begrudgingly discovers that she has feelings, if not strictly maternal, of love for the children. They become a sort of family who work together and hold each other up. There is action and adventure, unrequited love and a whole lot of beautiful language on the scenery of Montana. I loved this book. I loved all the characters with all their flaws. Lots of personal growth for Nara and a fulfilling ending for this little pieced together family. Highly Recommended.

[sdbookhound · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have always had a fascination with the orphan trains. This book drew me right into the story of these young people who pinned their hopes on finding a new life in the west. This one was different than other books I have read in that they jumped off the orphan train rather than face the possibility that they may be sent back to where they came from. They find work on a Montana ranch and hope that they have found a place that they will truly belong.Dianna Rostad has done a great job with her first book. I was engaged and interested in the characters from the first page. I liked the story and the writing. The cover is beautiful and was what caught my eye even before learning what the book was about.My thanks to Library Thing Early Reviewers and William Morrow for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion of it.

[maydacat_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This amazing tale portrays the lives of orphans nobody wanted and speaks of the hardscrabble life ranchers endured. It will certainly captivate and likely distress readers, as the story of three orphans on a train headed west, who ultimately meet a family dealing with their own problems, unfolds. Charles, Patrick, and Opal are quite different from each other, but they form a family of sorts, more out of necessity than actual affection. But affection does come with time. Nara, now considered to be a spinster, helps out on her aging parent’s ranch. When these two factions meet, there is distrust as well as great suspicion on both sides. All these characters are flawed in some way, some more than others. Mama is in mourning, Papa longs for his son to take over the ranch, Nara is denied owning the ranch because of her gender, the longing she has for a ranch hand cannot be acknowledged because of his race, and the son is failing at his chosen career. But despite all these problems, there is growth of characters as these very different people learn to adjust and accept what cannot be changed. Understanding comes slowly, but it does come, and sometimes you really do have to walk in another’s shoes to comprehend the actions he took. This well written story, with its lifelike characters and intricate plot, is sad at times, but it is also hopeful for the future. It’s a story you don’t want to miss reading.

[grandmacootie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

You can’t replay time. All you can ever do is face forward. If there is a theme for every single character in You Belong Here Now, this is it. You can look back with sorrow and regret, wonder what-if, wish things had turned out differently, but you can’t go back and change what has already happened. The only thing you have control of is what you do in the future, and often you don’t even have much of that. Choices may haunt you but you can’t go back for a redo.The three orphans that show up at the Stewart ranch are rejects. Patrick’s parents died of the Spanish flu. But Patrick is Irish, he talks funny, and there is a lot of prejudice and hatred toward the Irish. Opal is a tiny little thing who won’t speak. Families are looking to get some good hard work from their orphans, so Opal doesn’t suit. And Charles is a big strong brooding young man, surly and with bruises on his face. Who wants a big troublemaker? So before the last train stop, where they are sure they’ll be rejected one final time and sent back to the unbearable conditions they are trying to escape from in New York, they decide to jump the train and try to make it on their own. Patrick hurts himself jumping, so Charles tries to “borrow” a horse at the Stewart ranch.The Stewart family might not be rejects but they are damaged. Young daughter Mabel was killed in a stampede, leaving lingering bad blood among neighbors. Son John dreamed of becoming an artist, not a rancher and went to the city. His father hopes he’ll return to take over, but that seems unlikely. That leaves daughter Nara, now a moody brusque spinster who can’t seem to fill the void left by either of her siblings. She loves the ranch and excels at running it, but her father believes women should be in the kitchen, so while he relies on her help and expertise now, he shows her no respect and does not intend to leave the ranch to her. Her future seems bleak, made even more so by the bittersweet forbidden attraction between her and their Indian ranch hand Jim. So to say she is not thrilled to discover the three orphans trying to make off with a horse is an understatement. If the children stay Nara is eventually going to be stuck in the kitchen raising them. But they are short of ranch workers and any help is needed.You Belong Here Now is not an easy book to read. The writing seems rough and uneven at time, but it’s actually perfect and fitting, because ranch life in Montana in 1925 was rough and uneven, and worlds away from New York and the other big cities back East. Little by little Charles, Patrick and Opal start to fit in with the family. But it’s two steps forward and one step back, and sometimes just one step forward and many steps back. It’s not an easy road to understanding and acceptance. Not all the Stewarts’ neighbors are welcoming to these outsiders and Charles’ and Opal’s pasts start to catch up with them.This was an absorbing story, full of interesting characters making their way through difficult times to becoming a family. The information about the orphan trains was fascinating and heart-wrenching. What seemed like a well-intentioned project to provide needy children with good homes often resulted in near-slavery for those poor children. Thanks to LibraryThing and publisher William Morrow for providing an advance copy of You Belong Here Now. I was not required to provide a review and do so voluntarily; all opinions are my own. I enjoyed the book and recommend it.

[pinklady60 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In 1925, three children ride an orphan train from New York to Montana, hoping to be adopted along the way. As they grow closer to their final destination, and being passed over at each station, they decide to jump off the train and try to make it on their own. This could have been an excellent story if the concentration had been solely on the orphan children, what led up to their placement on the orphan train, their feelings of being picked apart and not being chosen, and their survival once they decided to leave the train. In my opinion, there were too many unnecessary plot lines that went nowhere. I did, however, enjoy learning about life on a Montana ranch during that time.

[samsattler · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

You Belong Here Now, Dianna Rostad’s debut novel, is a story about three children who ride the Orphan Train from New York to Montana in 1925 only to reach the end of the line still not having been chosen by anyone looking for children to bring into their homes. Stop after stop, they find themselves having to re-board the train hoping that it will go differently for them on the next train platform they come to. But Charles is too big, little Olive is too scrawny and refuses to talk, and Patrick just seems to be too Irish to suit the locals. The three have little in common other than their determination not to end up back in New York City, but when Charles and Patrick decide to jump off the slow-moving train together before it reaches its last stop in Montana, Olive refuses to be left behind. And now the three of them are on foot in what seems to them to be the middle of nowhere. That’s when Charles decides to steal a horse from the family ranch they finally come across, figuring that wherever they are going, riding is a whole lot easier than walking. This, though, is not just any family ranch. It is one in the process of dying right along with what’s left of the family that owns it. Nara, the spinster who runs the ranch along with her aging father now that her brother has made a new life for himself in New York, doesn’t think about the future much. She knows that her father is slowing down, but working from dawn to dusk - and beyond when necessary - is the only life she knows, and she can’t imagine anything else. After she catches Charles trying to steal one of her horses, she only reluctantly agree with her father to let the boy work off his crime on the ranch rather than turning him over to the sheriff. But even after Nara’s mother falls in love with tiny Olive immediately upon setting eyes on her, Nara is determined to work the two boys so hard that they can’t wait to get away from the ranch for good.You Belong Here Now covers a lot of ground. Some will call it a triple coming-of-age novel, but it is much more than that. It is also a novel about decades-old grudges with the power to destroy those who hold them, racial prejudice, the power of family ties, bonding, love, and bottom-line justice. It is the story of six people who learn just how much they mean to each other, and that real families do not necessarily share the same blood. And as Nara learns: “…justice doesn’t come about through rules of law, but rather it rises from the courage of just one person. Someone who yields to the better judgement of their heart. It doesn’t matter whether they’re a nobody, a somebody, or a big shot, so long as they have the temerity to put one finger on the scales.”Sometimes, in order to achieve justice, laws simply have to be ignored.Bottom Line: Historical fiction about the Orphan Trains is not uncommon these days, but it is a story that deserves to be told. It can be argued that many of the orphans sent west from America’s big cities were abused and otherwise overworked and exploited by the people who took them in, but it can also be argued that many, hopefully the vast majority, of the children were given better lives than the ones they left behind. You Belong Here Now tells part of that story. The novel did leave me with the impression that it is as much a YA novel as one for adults, so I recommend it for anyone wanting to learn more about the period in general and about the Orphan Train in particular. (Review Copy provided by Publisher)

[hobbitprincess · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I had the hardest time focusing on this book. The writing just didn't flow very well and seemed choppy at times. I liked reading about life on a Montana ranch and felt that those descriptions were good and accurate. The rest of the story wasn't as believable. Nara, one of the main characters, was a character I never got comfortable with. In fact, this was one of those books where I really didn't care much what happened to the characters, except the little girl Opal. I am still not sure how she managed to get out of one particular situation, however. *I received an ARC of this book from LibraryThing.*

[riofriotex · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Set in 1925, Charles (18 but pretending to be 16), Patrick (14), and Opal (8), fearful of being sent back to New York City if they aren't adopted, jump off the Orphan Train before its last stop in Bull Mountain, Montana. Charles is caught trying to steal a horse on the nearby Stewart ranch by 30-year-old Nara Stewart, a single woman operating the ranch with her aging parents. They agree to let the children stay. The boys help Nara and Papa Stewart, who hopes his oldest son, an artist, will return home to operate the ranch (instead of Nara). Little Opal helps Mama Stewart, who begins to view Opal as a replacement for a daughter lost in an accident many years before.The story got a little melodramatic at times, but was a good depiction of life on a Montana ranch in that era. However, the grammatical errors ("Him and Patrick" and "Her and Mama" as sentence subjects) and incomplete sentences in the advanced reader edition drove me nuts! These were NOT cases of the book's characters speaking, just a lack of proper editing. I do hope they were fixed before the final edition was released, as they really detracted from my enjoyment of the book.

[huberk-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

YOU BELONG HERE NOW by Dianna RostadA great orphan train novel. We follow Charles, 16 who was living on the streets of New York and desperate to escape the city life; Patrick, 14 Irish boy who loves horses and his dictionary; and Opal, 8 very little girl who was abused by her mother, she has deep burn scars on her wrists.The three children jumped off of the moving train, before the last stop in Bull Mountain, Montana, sure that no one would want them, and if they disappeared no one could force them back to New York.They had been hiding out for a few days and Charles tried to steal a horse but was caught by Nara Stewart. The Stewart family: Mama, Papa, and Nara, their 30-year old single daughter. Nara along with their Indian hired man Jim ran Stewart's cattle ranch and decided to let the children stay and work off their debt caused by Charles trying to steal the horse.The children would love a secure place to live, work, and belong. They just may have found that place.Much gratitude to #librarything and #williammorrow for the complimentary copy of #youbelongherenow I was under no obligation to post a review.

[susan.h.schofield · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

2.5 stars. I had a hard time with this book - I really wanted to like it more. But I really couldn't connect with the story or characters. It had a good message and was touching but nothing about it really stands out for me. I received an ARC of this book from LibraryThing.

[mpmills · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Three children, Charles, Patrick, and Opal, were the only three children that were not picked for adoption from an orphan train and jumped off rather than be taken back to New York. Luckily, they were found by the Stewart family who were fair, hardworking people. It’s hard to imagine how many children were shipped out west on these trains to face a very uncertain future. And 1925 Montana was a harsh place where people worked sunup to sundown just to survive. I found this novel slow in places, but overall I enjoyed it.

[pegmcdaniel · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the debut novel for Dianna Rostad. Since I had read The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline, I was familiar with orphan trains that took homeless children from the NYC area across the country to find new homes. These children were subjected to tight, and sometime humiliating, scrutiny by people who were looking for various kinds of help. After being selected, many were treated like a free worker and not a member of a loving family.It's 1925 and Charles, Patrick, and Opal were the last three children on an orphan train nearing Montana. They bravely jumped from the train rather than be overlooked again and have to go back to NYC. They bonded despite their different backgrounds and Charles, being the oldest at 18 but lied that he was 16, took the lead. Eventually they end up at the Stewart farm and, through hard work and lessons learned, experience what family love is all about.There are interesting side stories throughout the novel but I felt that, at times, it was repetitive and it moved slowly in the middle. Overall, a nice debut, but the foul language was not needed.Thanks to LibraryThing for the Uncorrected Proof in exchange for my honest opinion.

[pennybrainerd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As my brother was adopted from the Children's Aid Society in 1958, I wanted to read more about the orphans shipped mostly from New York to other cities and states. The three children in the book have differing situations for becoming orphans --- parents dead, children abandoned, runaways, etc. Charles's mother cannot take care of him and he has to fend for himself on the streets. Telling the authorities that he's 16, instead of 18, he manages to secure a spot on the train. Patrick, who is Irish, also secures a spot. And then there is little Opal with burn marks on her wrists and barely saying a word. Headed for the last stop, they know if they are not chosen, they will be sent back to New York and none of them want to be returned. Hopping off shortly before arriving at the last stop in Montana, they move quickly to get as far away as possible. Trying to find a horse to steal so the younger boy and girl can ride instead of walking long distances, Charles runs into Nara who lives with her mother and father on a large cattle ranch. The eldest son, John, wanted no part in cattle ranching, and headed to New York to make a life painting and selling his art works. Nara dearly hopes that her father will give her more responsibility in running the ranch, but her father keeps thinking that John will come back one day. The orphans invited in for a good hot meal, they find a home with the Stewarts. Both boys help Nara with the cattle and fixing fences that keep getting cut down in the night. Opal helps mamma in the kitchen, but still will not talk very much, so nobody knows how her wrists got burned. All three attend school, but Charles gets into fights, Patrick tries to fit in even though he is Irish, and Opal would much rather be feeding the chickens instead of going to school. The townspeople suspect the three children are the ones missing from the Orphan train, but the Stewarts maintain that they are relatives and need a place to stay temporarily. The book held my interest, and the details about Orphan Trains were interesting. Shortly after finishing the book, I saw a documentary on Orphan Trains and how the children were treated at each stop. How disheartening it must have been to be passed over in each town and that is the basis of why these three decided to make it on their own. I had no idea that so many children were relocated to different parts of the US. The Orphan Train ran until 1929 as each state began handling orphans and homeless children on their own.

[sunqueen_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was an ok read, it did keep my attention, and the plight of the children was interesting. I liked the Montana setting.

[carolee888 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book won my heart, I loved all the character, even the evil ones! I love family stories. Nara reminded me of myself in my mother. Like Nara, when her mother and sister were cooking the kitchen, the meals only needed two people to make the meal and Nara only had minor things to do in the kitchen. But she, like my mother, from a family of twelve wanted a role that she could pull her full weight. Nara helped her father and the cattle hands on the ranching, tending to calf births, taking care of the sick livestock and other related demanding jobs around the ranch in Montana in the 1920s. My mother turned to sewing, making dresses for the men and women in her family. I, in turn, taught myself to cook because mother never did.Nara felt more comfortable in pants and men's clothes, of course. A dress could be a bother and a hazard out on the range. I, by the way, hated dresses with just as much passion as Nara. There many other ways that I identified with her.The children who rode out on the orphan train, endured being picked over and examined like they were livestock or future help for the family, not like future family, Charles,the oldest had developed a quick temper in his childhood in Hell's Kitchen in New York, on the skinnier and slighter build was a red-headed and freckled Irish boy who lost his parents to the Spanish Flu. The latter, named Patrick reminded me of my college literature teacher who lost his mother, father, sister and all his brother to the same. Perhaps if Patrick was adopted before going on the orphan train, he could have been a literature teacher.The last of the children on the long ride of the train was a very shy blonde girl who was tiny. She held her past hidden from othersThere are memorable characters like Nara's parents, but I do hope that you read this treasure of a book. After reading it, I hugged the book. Dianna Rostad can weave a tale from her own family tales and do it masterfully. I loved this book

[delphimo_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Dianna Rostad details the life in Montana in 1925. The orphan train that left New York and headed west to give orphans in New York a chance at a different life. Dianna Rostad briefly addresses the plight of these orphans as western farmers looked for strong and healthy farm laborers. Many books have detailed the orphan trains and the horrid life the orphans entered. Rostad bases her story on three children who jump the train before the last stop. These children from diverse backgrounds bond together and enter a farm and learn about life. Charles an eighteen-year-old running from the law and pretending to be sixteen protects Patrick, a small Irish lad, and Opal a tiny girl covered with burned skin. Rostad deftly describes farm life and the dependence on neighboring farmers. The tale about killing the mustangs due to a lack of grassland perplexed me. So many stories of hardship in Montana surprised me, such as the viciousness of wolves. An interesting story, but not enough detail.

[pdebolt_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Three children, Charles, Patrick and Opal, board the orphan train bound west from New York City. There are many stops, but none of three is chosen. As they enter Montana, Charles decides with Patrick that their best bet is to jump from the train to survive on their own before the last stop and certain rejection again. Opal is a very young girl, who is determined to stay with the boys as they leap to their new life. They eventually make their way to a homestead guarded by a hardened spinster named Nara, who is suspicious of their origins. She puts the boys to work on the farm while Nara's mother is totally besotted with Opal after having lost her other daughter at a young age. Nara's parents are much less suspicious of the children than Nara. She eventually comes to admire the boys' work ethic, and is Charles' staunch supporter when he most needs it.The history of orphan trains is fascinating, and Dianna Rostad has added to our knowledge with this debut novel. My thanks to LibraryThing and the publisher for this ER book.

[timbazzett · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Sorry. The book descriptionfor YOU BELONG HERE NOW sounded very intriguing. And I loved the bestseller, THE ORPHAN TRAIN. But twenty pages of this awful, awkward, purple prose was enough for me. Doesn't William Morrow have any readers or discerning editors anymore? Sorry. Nope. Not recommended.

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is 1925, and a group of orphans are being sent westward from New York to be examined by families at each train stop who are looking for laborers more than children. The last stop is in Bull Mountain, Montana, and the three children who are left suspect no one will pick them at that stop, just as they were repeatedly passed over before. Charles is 18 (although trying to pass for 16), and has bruises, signaling potential trouble. Patrick is 14 and is Irish; there was a great deal of bigotry against the Irish at the time, with people assuming they were lazy, inter alia. And Opal is just a little girl, clearly unsuitable for much work. The three decide to stick together, and they jump off the train before the last stop to try to make their own way somehow.They were discovered when Charles tries to steal a horse for them from the barn of the Stewart family, who operated a big ranch outside of Bull Mountain. The Stewarts were a complicated collection of people who had scarred-over characters from years of hard work and loss. They reluctantly agreed to take on the kids and work them hard in exchange for room and board.As the story goes on, members of this now expanded small group had profound effects on one another, and they grew into a family that didn’t fit into any traditional category. But they also experienced more loss and serious adversity in this tough, tough environment.Evaluation: This story held my interest, but there were some aspects of the plot still unexplained at the end, and I thought other aspects too neatly resolved. Nevertheless, the characters and their sheer grit and bravery grow on you, as does the story generally.