Eleven-year-old Michael Patrick Kelly from New York City is sent to a foster home, a Missouri farm with a sadistic owner, a bullying son, and a number of secrets, one of which may be murder.

In 1856, having traveled with his young sister from New York to a foster home on a farm in Missouri, ten-year-old Danny plots to get his foster father to send for and marry his mother.

Despite her unconventional upbringing - she'd been adopted off the orphan train by the local "madam" - Emma Chalmers was the most prim and proper young lady in all of Whitneyville. Why, she wouldn't even permit Fulton Whitney to kiss her, and they were practically engaged! But when Steven Fairfax landed in her home, wounded in an explosion at the town's raunchiest saloon, his lazy smile made Emma's blood race. Slowly, Steven stilled her fears with...

In 1861, while living with his foster parents at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, twelve-year-old Mike Kelly and his best friend Todd Blakely join the Union army as drummer boys but their dreams of glory end when they experience the full horrors of war at the Battle of Wilson's Creek in Missouri.

The Civil War has officially ended, and Frances Mary Kelly's true love, Johnny, is back from the war. But to Frances's dismay, Johnny is hesitant to marry her. Attempting to ease her aching heart, Frances accepts an offer to go to New York City and escort a group of orphans out West to new homes. Along the way she must deal with a flood of painful memories and a threatenin The Civil War has officially ended, and Frances Mary Kelly's true love, Johnny,...

The second book in the Orphan Trains Trilogy from writing duo Al and Joanna Lacy
When 62 orphans and abandoned children leave New York City on a train headed out West, they have no idea what to expect. Will they get separated from their friends or siblings? Will their new families love them? Will a family even pick them at all? But their futures are wilder than any of them could imagine, and range from kidnappings and whippings to stowing...

A Bundle of ComplicationsGroomed for high society, Rebecca Sterling now has a new mission - to help the orphans coming to Evans Grove. Yet just before she's due to return to New York, she faces two unexpected challenges. There's the tiny infant abandoned on her orphanage steps - and the big, gruff cowboy who found him. Colton Hayes knows nothing about babies and even less about pampered socialites. But as he and Rebecca work together to watch over...

"Life on the Rush farm in South Dakota is not easy. Even so, over the past four years, Ethan Cooper and his siblings have grown to feel they belong with their adoptive family. Then Chad Rush makes an unexpected announcement. The family is moving again--this time to Mexico! Ethan is scared. What dangers will they face in another country? What will it be like to live on an oil homestead instead of a farm? And what about his dreams of getting an education?...

"Since their mama died and their pa left, Ethan, Alice, Simon, and Will Cooper have not known much of a home. But now that the orphan train has taken them to Mr. and Mrs. Rush in Nebraska, their dreams of home may become a reality. The kids discover that life on a farm is full of challenges. Ethan learns how to drive a plow, watch for snakes, and deal with bullies at the country school. Alice learns to slop the hogs and live with a big sister who...

When a financial crisis in 1850s New York leaves three orphaned sisters nearly destitute, the oldest, Elise Neumann, knows she must take action. She's had experience as a seamstress, and the New York Children's Aid Society has established a special service: placing out seamstresses and trade girls. Even though Elise doesn't want to leave her sisters for a job in Illinois, she realizes this may be their last chance. The son of one of New York City's...