To be an orphan in the late 1800s was a bleak fate indeed. Dressed in the workhouse uniform that proclaimed your state to the world, you were expected to express gratitude to your keepers while they farmed you out as cheap help to anyone who needed a servant. It’s no wonder, then, that 11-year-old Ellen is furious at being mistaken for a “workhouse brat.” Even though she has to sell flowers on the Liverpool dockside to earn a living, she does have Uncle Herbert to go home to. But when she’s accused of theft and in danger of being dragged before the magistrate, she takes refuge among a band of orphans being marched on board ship and finds herself trapped when the ship sets sail. Like it or not, she is on her way to Canada and until her uncle can send money for her return, she has to live with a farm family in Manitoba and work for a living, just like the orphans.

Novels offer young readers a powerful way to experience lives and times other than their own. In this case, they can begin to understand how 19th-century society viewed children in general and orphans in particular. Although Ellen is well treated by the family who take her in, other adults are quick to assume that as an orphan she must be a thief and a troublemaker. Another orphan, George, who works on a nearby farm, is beaten regularly by his employer.

Horne presents a detailed and interesting picture of life on an 1880s prairie farm. However, the reader of a novel yearns to engage emotionally with the protagonist and at least some of the other characters. Too often, Horne tells us that Ellen is scared or sad rather than dramatizing her feelings through actions and thoughts. This results in a sense of distance and detachment, making it difficult for the reader to relate to Ellen or her plight. As well, many of the story’s dramatic possibilities are only partially realized; for example, much more could have been made of the horrors of George’s situation. Although the bare bones narrative by itself makes an exciting adventure, the characters need more fleshing out to come alive as fully rounded individuals whose lives and ultimate fate are meaningful for the reader.