Vivian Daly is a 91 year old widow. She was an orphan, as both her parents unfortunately died in a fire when she was only seven. In her childhood she rode the Orphan Train. She grew up in Ireland, where her name was Niamh. In her second foster home in Minnesota, she was renamed Dorothy. When she later lived with the family who adopted her, her name was changed to Vivian.
Molly Ayer is a seventeen year old living in foster care. She lives with her foster parents, Ralph and Dina, in Spruce Harbor, Maine. She's currently on probation for trying to steal one of her favorite books and has to put in 72 hours of community service. For the service, she's helping Vivian with cleaning out her attic. Later, Molly moves in with Vivian, where she lives for the rest of the novel.
Ralph and Dina are Molly's foster parents. Ralph was the one that really wanted a foster child. Dina protests the idea multiple times. Dina strongly dislikes Molly, and the feeling is mutual. By the end of the book, Molly leaves them to live with Vivian.
Ralph and Dina are Molly's foster parents. Ralph was the one that really wanted a foster child. Dina protests the idea multiple times. Dina strongly dislikes Molly, and the feeling is mutual. By the end of the book, Molly leaves them to live with Vivian.
Dutchy, or Hans, is Vivian's love interest. They first met on the Orphan Train and later reconnected when Vivian was in her twenties. They met up in a bar where Dutchy played the piano. Just as she had, he had been renamed to Luke in his first foster home. They later got married. He unfortunately died in action in WWII.
Jack is Molly's boyfriend. The two go to the same the same high school. When Molly first started at school, Jack was the only one who actually talked to Molly. He's the one who convinced his mom, Vivian's housecleaner, to let Molly clean out Vivian's attic. If it weren't for him, Molly would be out picking up trash in a park. Jack is being raised by his mother, Terry, after his father left the family when Jack was young.
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Terry is Jack's mom. She works as Vivian's house cleaner and takes care of Jack after his father left the picture. Terry was the person who let Molly help Vivian clean out the attic, but mostly only because she didn't want to do it. At the beginning of the story, Terry is not fond of Molly, but towards the end of the book, she softens her view of Molly.
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Throughout the course of her life, Vivian had many foster parents. The first was the Byrneses. They treated Vivian like a slave and made her sleep out in the hallway. They even padlocked the fridge so that Vivian couldn't get into it. The second was the Groteses. This was by far the worst foster home Vivian had been put into. They already had four children, and the mother was always sick. Vivian was treated atrociously here and was kicked out late one night. Then, temporarily, she lived with her teacher, Miss Larsen, in her boarding house. Here, she was treated like a princess, but unfortunately it had to end because the boarding house had a policy against housing children. The last foster home she visits is the Nielsens. They give her own room and even decide to adopt her.
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