Publisher's Synopsis
After the Cuban Missle crisis fizzles out, young Jack Gantos is relieved of his bomb-shelter-digging chore and accompanies his old friend Miss Volker on a train trip east to the grave of Mrs. Roosevelt, the patron saint of Norvelt, who has just died. As more than one snoopy stranger is riding the rails with them, their field trip east is as fraught as it is fun, until news arrives of Miss Volkers twin sisters death in Florida. Things head south for Jack and Miss Volker in more ways than one, as they race ever further from home, in this madcap road novel filled with history, mystery, hilarity, and heartache.
