Wanderville by Wendy McClure (review)

At the turn of the twentieth century, Frances, Harold, and Jack find themselves on an orphan train headed from New York to Kansas. Rumors about a work farm prompt the trio to bolt from the train before they reach their destination, and in the woods the three friends encounter a strange boy named Alexander, who welcomes them to Wanderville, his makeshift home in the woods. Alexander has first-hand experience with the work farm and the despotic Pratcherd family who run it, but he escaped and is now stealing food and supplies from the local town in order to survive on his own. The kids agree to throw in their lot with Alexander, but a supply run goes wrong when Harold is misidentified as a runaway from the work farm and is taken there. This is the first title in a series, which will be a relief to those readers who feel the children’s ultimate escape here is on shaky ground (they eventually rescue Harold but the Pratcherds remain a threat). Parts of the plot strain credulity, and the characters, particularly the bad guys, are pretty predictable, so there aren’t a lot of surprises here. Nonetheless, the kids are a likable bunch, and their exploits may not be completely plausible, but they are exciting. The idea of a kid-run town in the woods and all the rustically domestic details that entails will appeal greatly to the same kind of kids who love the Boxcar Children’s hidden home.