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megtk_01's review against another edition
4.0
Check out more of my reviews! http://lovingliteraturemrsking.blogspot.com/
How does living on Alcatraz with Al Capone and 277 of America’s worst criminals sound to you? That’s where Moose Flanagan lives with his family, along with the other guards and their families. In Gennifer Choldenko’s second novel about Moose, Al Capone Shine My Shoes, our main character is in a real fix. In the first novel, Moose asked for help getting his sister Natalie into a special school. Al has done that, and now it’s Moose’s turn to pay up.
Choldenko connects the events from Al Capone Does My Shirts seamlessly, without a “last time on Alcatraz…” feeling. While Moose is dealing with this big favor that Al Capone wants from him, he’s also dealing with friends. Everyone likes Moose—right? Not always. Right now, it seems like everyone is upset with him. When his older sister Natalie comes home for a visit, everything becomes even more complicated. Lots of adventures ensue as Moose tries to do the right thing and still keep everyone happy. He’ll learn, though, that trying to make everyone happy doesn’t always work.
I like the pressure that Choldenko puts Moose under. It makes him uncomfortable as he struggles to be a good person and to deal with the false ideas other have of him. He is a good kid, but finds himself in predicaments with his friends on a regular basis. Most of the problems he finds himself in revolve around Al Capone and the fascination they all seem to have with the charismatic prisoner who sends messages to Moose through the laundry.
Weaving historical facts with her own imagination, Choldenko has created a believable space for the Alcatraz kids to grow up in. She has created characters to live in the real life Alcatraz and woven in real life characters with whom they interact. One of the most interesting things is the author’s note in which she describes the facts surrounding Alcatraz and how she used them. We’re given glimpses into some of her interviews with people who really did live on Alcatraz with their families. She also points out to us the events she has created that are fictional, but also explains where she pulled the ideas from. This is a glimpse into her craft that I enjoyed and made the story even more enjoyable.
Even if you aren’t a huge historical fiction fan, you’ll enjoy the shenanigans of the Alcatraz kids. Their characters are believable and, although set in 1935, highly relatable by both boys and girls. Al Capone Shines My Shoes is a fun read that should not be missed!
How does living on Alcatraz with Al Capone and 277 of America’s worst criminals sound to you? That’s where Moose Flanagan lives with his family, along with the other guards and their families. In Gennifer Choldenko’s second novel about Moose, Al Capone Shine My Shoes, our main character is in a real fix. In the first novel, Moose asked for help getting his sister Natalie into a special school. Al has done that, and now it’s Moose’s turn to pay up.
Choldenko connects the events from Al Capone Does My Shirts seamlessly, without a “last time on Alcatraz…” feeling. While Moose is dealing with this big favor that Al Capone wants from him, he’s also dealing with friends. Everyone likes Moose—right? Not always. Right now, it seems like everyone is upset with him. When his older sister Natalie comes home for a visit, everything becomes even more complicated. Lots of adventures ensue as Moose tries to do the right thing and still keep everyone happy. He’ll learn, though, that trying to make everyone happy doesn’t always work.
I like the pressure that Choldenko puts Moose under. It makes him uncomfortable as he struggles to be a good person and to deal with the false ideas other have of him. He is a good kid, but finds himself in predicaments with his friends on a regular basis. Most of the problems he finds himself in revolve around Al Capone and the fascination they all seem to have with the charismatic prisoner who sends messages to Moose through the laundry.
Weaving historical facts with her own imagination, Choldenko has created a believable space for the Alcatraz kids to grow up in. She has created characters to live in the real life Alcatraz and woven in real life characters with whom they interact. One of the most interesting things is the author’s note in which she describes the facts surrounding Alcatraz and how she used them. We’re given glimpses into some of her interviews with people who really did live on Alcatraz with their families. She also points out to us the events she has created that are fictional, but also explains where she pulled the ideas from. This is a glimpse into her craft that I enjoyed and made the story even more enjoyable.
Even if you aren’t a huge historical fiction fan, you’ll enjoy the shenanigans of the Alcatraz kids. Their characters are believable and, although set in 1935, highly relatable by both boys and girls. Al Capone Shines My Shoes is a fun read that should not be missed!
dogtrax's review against another edition
4.0
Another solid and interesting story ... looking forward now to the next one ...
booksnorkel's review against another edition
5.0
I really appreciate how strong these books are. And the topics it touches on. The characters are complex and flawed and have real issues. Would it have been gut wrenching more true to life if one of the characters who went to the hospital died? Oh absolutely. But... this is still a book for 5 on up so perhaps that would have been too real.
Great series can't wait to read the next one
Great series can't wait to read the next one
jogojam's review against another edition
5.0
My favorite part in the book is whaen Moose's sister finds out that the cons have no guns and she help figure out the case.
carnisht's review against another edition
3.0
Womp womp. This book really lost the magic of the first book for me sadly. I just could not get invested. With the first book, I was pretty quickly into the story. With this one, though, I just did NOT want to read it… at all. I had to force myself to pick it up everyday. My only reason I can think of as to why is, potentially, the loss of Natalie.
The main conflict of this book was that Moose had to repay the favor to Capone, but… he did that by giving his wife the roses… at the halfway point of the book. The whole book had been leading up to this, and then it happened halfway through. After this the plot became basically nothing? Like I can’t even identify a through line of a plot. There’s a major conflict at the END of the book, but nothing really for the back half besides that.
Moose also had some smaller, more personal conflicts, but I really didn’t care for these much either. Annie was mad at him for getting help from Capone, Jimmy was jealous about his mainland friend, Scout, and then Piper was just being Piper. I mean, each of these conflicts added a slight plot to the book, but I found them dull and unexciting compared to Moose’s conflict with Capone.
For more of my thoughts on this book, check out
https://yalitreader.wordpress.com/2022/01/28/al-capone-shines-my-shoes-by-gennifer-choldenko/
The main conflict of this book was that Moose had to repay the favor to Capone, but… he did that by giving his wife the roses… at the halfway point of the book. The whole book had been leading up to this, and then it happened halfway through. After this the plot became basically nothing? Like I can’t even identify a through line of a plot. There’s a major conflict at the END of the book, but nothing really for the back half besides that.
Moose also had some smaller, more personal conflicts, but I really didn’t care for these much either. Annie was mad at him for getting help from Capone, Jimmy was jealous about his mainland friend, Scout, and then Piper was just being Piper. I mean, each of these conflicts added a slight plot to the book, but I found them dull and unexciting compared to Moose’s conflict with Capone.
For more of my thoughts on this book, check out
https://yalitreader.wordpress.com/2022/01/28/al-capone-shines-my-shoes-by-gennifer-choldenko/
abigailhaagen's review against another edition
3.0
This sequel suspended my disbelief more than I liked for a historical fiction. It also was difficult for me to finish because I got bored in the middle. But overall, it was still a charming book with cute characters. I also love the writing style :-)
kandicez's review against another edition
4.0
I wanted to think about this book before a review and while thinking realized it was a four star read, not a three star read. This is historical fiction for youth and I was thinking of it as an adult book. That's a compliment, because Choldenko does not speak down to her audience, but I lost sight of the fact that young adults/children reading this book would be learning a lot as they did so. It was so cleverly written that they probably wouldn't even be aware of it. That's my favorite kind of historical fiction.
Choldenko gives exquisite detail about like in the 1930s, but even better is that her glimpse into that decade is narrowed to what life not only as a prison guard's son would be, but what it would be like to live next door to criminals on an isolated by design island. She does a terrific job of setting the scene without seeming to do so. She shows, doesn't tell, and that's the best kind of storytelling there is.
I genuinely like Moose, the main character, and even more so because of his relationship with his sister Natalie. Natalie seems to suffer from Autism, but Choldenko doesn't ever say so. They didn't have a word for Autism in the 1930's, but the fact that she is able to convey that this is exactly what's going on with Natalie is fantastic. It reminds me of [a:Margaret George|6599|Margaret George|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1273256433p2/6599.jpg]'s [b:The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers|10108|The Autobiography of Henry VIII With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers|Margaret George|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439956289s/10108.jpg|2505877]. George was able to show us Henry had diabetes without ever once using the word. For Choldenko, my comparing her to George is the best praise I can think of.
Choldenko gives exquisite detail about like in the 1930s, but even better is that her glimpse into that decade is narrowed to what life not only as a prison guard's son would be, but what it would be like to live next door to criminals on an isolated by design island. She does a terrific job of setting the scene without seeming to do so. She shows, doesn't tell, and that's the best kind of storytelling there is.
I genuinely like Moose, the main character, and even more so because of his relationship with his sister Natalie. Natalie seems to suffer from Autism, but Choldenko doesn't ever say so. They didn't have a word for Autism in the 1930's, but the fact that she is able to convey that this is exactly what's going on with Natalie is fantastic. It reminds me of [a:Margaret George|6599|Margaret George|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1273256433p2/6599.jpg]'s [b:The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers|10108|The Autobiography of Henry VIII With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers|Margaret George|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439956289s/10108.jpg|2505877]. George was able to show us Henry had diabetes without ever once using the word. For Choldenko, my comparing her to George is the best praise I can think of.
lindasdarby's review against another edition
read a couple of pages and then got into another book. some other time I'll get to this book.