Dianna Rostad

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 show more 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. show less

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 show more 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 others

There 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 show less

YOU BELONG HERE NOW is a touching historical drama about survival, acceptance, and creating a family beyond blood. Set in Montana in the 1920s, the story follows the last three children from an orphan train who jump off to find work and possibly a new home on a cattle ranch. The family that they find are struggling with their own grief and loss.

I enjoyed this absorbing tale that brings to light the perilous lives of orphans at the time, as well as the bigotry faced by Irish immigrants and show more indigenous people. What a terrifying prospect it must have been to be sent west into the unknown, as you could only hope that you’re taken in by decent people. The writing was a bit melodramatic at times, but overall this coming of age novel is enjoyable and uplifting.

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program in exchange for my honest review. show less

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 show more 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. show less