Al Capone Does My Shirts By Gennifer Choldenko

Title: Al Capone Does My Shirts
Author: Gennifer Choldenko
Reviewer: Stephanie
Genre: YA Fiction
Rating: Love
Alerts/Warnings: None
Premise: A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister. (King County Library System)
Opinions: I picked up this book several years ago and I have read it many times since. This is a beautiful story of a young boy living on Alcatraz while his father is a guard there. Not only do you have this very interesting premise of what would a young boy do while living on Alcatraz, you throw in his autistic sister, Natalie, and it makes for a complex and interesting tale. This book addresses the issues of mental health in during the 1930's, parental and sibling struggles and a young boy wanting to still be a kid but having to grow up.

I love this book. After the many times I have read it, I still get goose bumps. You know those "That was such an amazing book!" goosebumps. Without fail, the last sentence ALWAYS gives me those goosebumps. (But don't peek ahead! And even if you do, it doesn't make sense until you read the whole book.)