The massive orphan train exodus whisked three-year-old Teresa from the safety of her New York orphanage, where the worst thing the Foundling nuns did was wash her curly black hair, to a desolate house and cold-hearted "parents" in Kansas. She was taken in by an older couple who spoke no English and wanted her to use as a slave and for sexual abuse. This book looks at the orphan train movement through the eyes of one small child who survived a terrible childhood and eventually came to terms with her past, her faith and herself. This is her story.

The Orphan Train was designed with good intentions, but unfortunately not all the people who took and orphan in had those same intentions. There have been many books written about this period, and I have read some, but this non-fiction account was heartbreaking but hopeful. For a young child, I was amazed at what Teresa endured and how resilient she was. She was also extremely bright learning high German to communicate with her new family. This story was a real eye opener and I was rooting for Teresa to persevere and become the best she could be. As this book was told based on memories from a child, now many years later, I'm sure some may not have been completely accurate, but it still shares the type of things these children would have endured. Shame on those who took in these children and used and abused them.

Grab some nourishment, sit down, and be prepared to read this book straight through. It was such an engrossing read of Teresa's life. I fell in love with spunky orphan who always tried to better herself. Teresa did not have much going for her, an orphan, sent away from New York to Kansas on the Orphan Train, brought into an abusive house, made to learn another language, yet she preserved. I admired her drive, her determination, and her great love of dancing!

The Mail-order kid tells the story of the Orphan train children between the years of 1854-1929 who were taken from orphanages and shipped by rail to different states. Specifically the story focusses on Teresa who we meet at only three years old who is taken to Kansas and severely mistreated.
Resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity is what sums this story up as we follow Teresa's life. A real eye opener and page turner I enjoyed this book very much and routed for Teresa all the way through whilst marvelling at her spirit.
My thanks go to the publishers, author and Netgalley in providing an arc of this book in return for a honest review

I’d never heard of the Orphan Train Riders, the orphaned or abandoned children who were sent out from New York City to new families in other parts of the country, and the story of the programme and the way it was run is a fascinating one. However, this book doesn’t do its job of portraying it very well, as by concentrating on just one child, Jessie Feit and following her throughout her life, we don’t get a balanced picture of what life was like for the many other children – although if we can extrapolate from Jessie’s experience, they all had a hard time of it. What I really didn’t like about the book was the use of reconstructed conversations, which the author couldn’t have been present at, and the participants couldn’t have remembered in such detail. The first part of the book is about Jessie as a child and she couldn’t have been as aware and articulate as she is portrayed. The book would, in fact, have worked better as a novel, but as a work of non-fiction it fails to give the bigger picture and even as a straight biography feels shallow. Disappointing and unsatisfactory.

Wow! I cannot believe the life the orphan train rider that the author focused on experienced! The author did an amazing job of researching a topic that is typically not researched so thoroughly. By narrowing the focus of the writing to mainly one child, the author made it possible for me to vividly imagine what life was like for this poor child. I do not think I would have been as invested if there were more stories told, as I think the flow of the book would not have been as good if the author had to weave back and forth between experiences of several people.

This book was a riveting look at a period that I was extremely interested in when younger (reading the Orphan Train fiction series) and to see a factual take was exciting. The story was one that grabbed your interest and didn't let go with a fast pace and clear language.

I enjoyed this story a lot, because of its subject. I'd never before heard of the orphan trains although I wasn't at all surprised by what I learned as I progressed through the book. This sort of thing happened world wide, the only differences being that it was carried out by different organisations for a variety of differed supposed causes. I grew to love Teresa and totally understood why she constantly was at odds with herself to fit in, to better herself, to be recognised for something other than being an orphan, a Geschickte, a Mail-Order Kid. Her story was heartbreaking in parts and I rejoiced for her at times also. Nobody deserved happiness more than she did.
The story read as an autobiography, but it was not an autobiography. Had Teresa penned every word of this story the writing would have matched the final product. But she didn't, and for that reason I feel better writing could have been used, often. At times I felt paragraphs were misplaced, when I expected more detail to follow but none did. At times information was given and then that strand was abandoned leaving the reader wanting to know more. And at times I also felt paragraphs were needlessly included which really had no part to play in the narrative, and did nothing to enhance Teresa's story.
This book however was an enjoyable, easy read, which served its purpose well in informing the wider world of the plight of Teresa and hundreds of thousands of children like her who were plucked from their surrounding and deposited in far flung destinations.

An emotional, moving, and thoroughly engaging book that brings to life the struggle and plight of the thousands of orphans transported against their will into the interior of the US to become adoptees.

After reading fictional works about the orphan trains, it was good to read this true account and consider the lifelong effects of such an early life experience. I couldn't help but admire Teresa, her resilience, tenacity, and success in life. However, despite all of that, she never escaped the shadow of the orphan train.

I have always been fascinated by the period of history when children were literally taken from the streets of NY and relocated to the Midwest by do-gooders and the Church who felt that living on farms as part of families and communities well distant from their homes was an improvement for children. In some cases, it was, indeed, a success. However, more often, children were abused, treated as indentured servants, and felt the effects of losing any connection with their homes, families, and histories.

This is a true story of Theresa (Jessie) Feit who was placed with an elderly couple in Kansas and lived a troubled, near tragic life but managed to become a success in life through pure grit and determination. Her original placement was terminated when her foster father abused her and literally scalped her. Turned over to the care of the courts, she is continually placed in situations for which she was totally unsuited and with "caregivers" who sexually or emotionally abused her. Through it all, she fought for an education and eventually became a medical librarian at Porter Hospital in Denver, Co.

Her luck with men seems to have been imprinted by her early experiences with her abusive father-figures. Her marriages were unfortunate though she persisted in them because of her Catholicism and her need for a secure life.

She is given a hint as to her real heritage when strangers in Denver ask if she is Jewish. After much digging, mostly by her daughter, she does find out that she is, indeed, Jewish and was placed in a Catholic foundling home where she was baptized.

Although this is a story of the Orphan Trains and Jessie is survivor, this is even more a story of Midwestern life in the early twentieth century. Theresa/Jessie's long life made her one of the few "children" to survive to see the 21st century.

The treatment that Jessie and other children receive should infuriate you but it is the story of another age when children were valued for the work they could provide in a home. The Orphan train sagas are an intriguing part of US history, just as the removal of Native American children to boarding schools was. In each case children are totally cut off from their history at the behest of a paternalistic society that "knew better".

My reservations about this book are that I have read better written biographies and there may be more interest for this book in Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado where the book primarily takes place. Though not a critical purchase, it is an interesting one and should be part of any collections that highlight the Orphan Train movement.

Grab some nourishment, sit down, and be prepared to read this book straight through. It was such an engrossing read of Teresa's life. I fell in love with spunky orphan who always tried to better herself. Teresa did not have much going for her, an orphan, sent away from New York to Kansas on the Orphan Train, brought into an abusive house, made to learn another language, yet she preserved. I admired her drive, her determination, and her great love of dancing!

An interesting book to read,about history that will be forgotton soon.
In places I found that the book should have expanded on certain chapters the way Teresa changed her employment on the drop of the hat does not leave Teresa in a good light should have been expanded here.
Trying to find her family was a bit confusing as who was double cousions,and left the reader baffled.
It is a gem of a book but to be appreaciated by the reader needs to be polished off in my view it is a rough diamond,for someone like me who does not know this part in American history should have been more concise in places.