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Al Capone Does My Shirts | LitPick Book Reviews
Al Capone Does My Shirts
Al Capone Does My Shirts (Tales from Alcatraz)
Al Capone Does My Shirts
Gennifer Choldenko
Moose Flannagan moves with his family to Alcatraz so his dad can work as a prison guard and his sister, Natalie, can attend a special school.  But Natalie has autism, and when she's denied admittance to the school, the stark setting of Alcatraz begins to unravel the tenuous coping mechanisms Moose's family has used for dealing with her disorder.When Moose meets Piper, the cute daughter of the Warden, he knows right off she's trouble.  But she's also strangely irresistible.  All Moose wants to do is protect Natalie, live up to his parents' expectations, and stay out of trouble.  But on Alcatraz, trouble is never very far away.Set in 1935, when guards actually lived on Alcatraz Island with their families.  Choldenko's second novel brings humor to the complexities of family dynamics and illuminates the real struggle of a kid trying to free himself from the "good boy" stance he's taken his whole life.

Book Details

Genre: 

  • Historical Fiction

Age Level: 

  • Any Age
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SHC

The book is a fictional story in the setting of an historical area. The place is Alcatraz Island in 1935. Moose and his family must move into the area of San Francisco because of his sister, Natalie, who has a problem and needs to have special treatment. Alcatraz Island was the only place that Moose's father could get a job as an electrician. Moose must make new friends despite his unusual living area. He meets the children of the other workers at Alcatraz, and they all must be careful because they are living on an island where the worst of the worst reside.

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