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From Publishers Weekly Four young children are orphaned in 1974， when a terrorist bomb explodes on the Milan-Rome express train， in this touching novel about how families cope with violence and loss. The explosion occurs just after the elder McWilliamses leave their kids briefly to get lunch in the cafe car， which is the part of the train that's blown to bits. Dazed and frightened， Charlotte， Oliver and infant Julia cling to Sam， who， at age seven， is the oldest of the siblings. An Italian family cares for them until they're picked up by their kind but conservative grandfather， who--with their agoraphobic grandmother--raises them in Grand Rapids， Mich. Though they love their new charges， the grandparents are distraught by the children's compulsive， secretive behavior， especially that of Sam， who， obsessed by his perceived responsibility to protect his family， becomes a loner with a bad reputation. After Sam is mistakenly blamed for the beating of a younger， handicapped boy， the family moves to Washington， D.C.， where Sam shoplifts items to build a bomb shelter and is placed in a juvenile detention center. There， he conceives the idea for Plum & Jaggers， a comedy troupe eventually composed of his brother and sisters， whose bizarre scenarios transform with dark humor the tragedies of random violence and the ironies of modern life. An accomplished author of adult (The Visiting Physician) and children's (The Formerly Great Alexander Family) fiction， Shreve reveals the orphans' creativity and self-destructiveness with balanced honesty， evoking her familiar themes of distrust and haunting memories. Best at sketches detailing individual quirks of the McWilliamses as they grow up， Shreve focuses more intensely throughout on the most disturbed， unstable and unusual character of Sam and leaves the other three siblings a bit sketchier. But through Sam's dark ebullience， Shreve traces the complexity of the family， including the spirits of the dead parents， offering a compassionate portrait of a courageous， troubled and resilient foursome. Author tour. (June) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information， Inc. From School Library Journal YA-Four youngsters are orphaned on a train to Rome when the dining car blows up， and readers follow their lives over the next 20 years. Their ability to develop as individuals is stunted by the death of their parents and their lives are haunted by them. Sam， the oldest， assumes the role of parent and guardian. He skips his own childhood as the other three remain childlike in their obedience to him. In order to cope with his responsibilities， he writes plays. Sam's writing frustrates the adult authorities because he does it instead of his schoolwork. However， the plays ultimately provide a means of supporting the siblings. They form a comedy troupe， first performing in local clubs and eventually having their own TV series about three children who gather around a table in each episode and wait for their parents to return. Sam calls it Plum & Jaggers， based on his parents' pet names for one another; it airs at midnight and has a cult following. The plot of this tender and terrifying book addresses the universal fear of every child-abandonment. The outside world for the McWilliams children is filled with scary things but Sam provides safety within their tightly knit family unit. In the end， the young people again ride the Espresso and continue on to Rome with the hope that this trip will free them at last from their prison of grief and allow them to get on with their lives.Sheila Barry， Chantilly Regional Library， VA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information， Inc. See all Editorial Reviews