Al Capone Does My Shirts- Gennifer Choldenko
So Josh had to read an "award winning book" for a book report and he picked this one. However, he forgot to bring the book home over the Christmas holiday so I ordered it on the Nook. Since it was there, of course I had to read it. I had no idea what to expect other than a book that would be assigned to a fourth grader. I was pleasantly surprised, and in one way just plain surprised, by the book.
The title references the fact that the main character lives on Alcatraz Island and the inmates (including the most famous Capone) do all of the islander's laundry as part of their daily activities. Moose's life was surprisingly complex for a kids book, specifically because his older sister has a form of autism in the days before autism was a "thing" (the book is set in the 1930s). Moose is often "saddled" with his sister as part of his daily responsibilities and part of the story is how he deals with her in the context of his immediate family, his friends, his neighbors and the broader world. I thought it was a lovely, realistic view of how a 13 year old boy would handle such a situation-sometimes with love, sometimes with anger, sometimes with humor, and sometimes with help. I did think that there were some themes that were a little adult for my 9 year old- for example, the sister at one point is left alone and Moose finds her sitting with one of the inmates. There are subtle references to what might have happened while they were unchaperoned, including one of the other kids asking "if she's pregnant?" I mean, not sure that my kid would have caught the reference, but if he did, I don't think that the potential rape of a mentally challenged minor by an Alcatraz convict was really an image I wanted him to have! That said, it was understated and in the context of the story was reasonable and it was clear that nothing actually happened and that Moose was just beating himself up for a momentary lapse in judgment and thinking the worst case scenario but still... that one hiccup aside, I actually liked the book. It had a nice "Prayer For Owen Meany" kind of ending which made Josh smile and laugh out loud- and yes, I read part of the book out loud to him, including the last chapter. when he was doing his reading of it...you never get too old to be read to, do you?
Rating: Its not an adult book but even so, I give it a solid #5 Good Enough and if I were a kid, I think it would be at #4 Liked It.
The title references the fact that the main character lives on Alcatraz Island and the inmates (including the most famous Capone) do all of the islander's laundry as part of their daily activities. Moose's life was surprisingly complex for a kids book, specifically because his older sister has a form of autism in the days before autism was a "thing" (the book is set in the 1930s). Moose is often "saddled" with his sister as part of his daily responsibilities and part of the story is how he deals with her in the context of his immediate family, his friends, his neighbors and the broader world. I thought it was a lovely, realistic view of how a 13 year old boy would handle such a situation-sometimes with love, sometimes with anger, sometimes with humor, and sometimes with help. I did think that there were some themes that were a little adult for my 9 year old- for example, the sister at one point is left alone and Moose finds her sitting with one of the inmates. There are subtle references to what might have happened while they were unchaperoned, including one of the other kids asking "if she's pregnant?" I mean, not sure that my kid would have caught the reference, but if he did, I don't think that the potential rape of a mentally challenged minor by an Alcatraz convict was really an image I wanted him to have! That said, it was understated and in the context of the story was reasonable and it was clear that nothing actually happened and that Moose was just beating himself up for a momentary lapse in judgment and thinking the worst case scenario but still... that one hiccup aside, I actually liked the book. It had a nice "Prayer For Owen Meany" kind of ending which made Josh smile and laugh out loud- and yes, I read part of the book out loud to him, including the last chapter. when he was doing his reading of it...you never get too old to be read to, do you?
Rating: Its not an adult book but even so, I give it a solid #5 Good Enough and if I were a kid, I think it would be at #4 Liked It.
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