Al Capone Does My Shirts, By Gennifer Choldenko

This is a great book. I would rate it 4 stars out of 5.

The main character is Matthew “Moose” Flanagan. In the book his real first name is only mentioned a few times. It is set in 1934 on Alcatraz. Alcatraz is an old inactive prison. There is an old saying, it is “Break the rules, go to prison. Break the prison rules, you go to Alcatraz. Alcatraz is also a small island off the coast of San Francisco. There has never been a successful escape.  Mouse has his friends on the rock: Annie, Jimmy, Theresa and Scout, who is an old friend from the city and is a great baseball player.

Moose has a dad, a mom, and a sister. But there is something wrong with one of them. Is it Cameron “Cam,” his dad, Helen, his mom, or Natalie “Nat.” It’s Nat. Every year, When it is Nat’s birthday, she turns 10. Over, and over, and over again. Now, There is a new school for 4-12 year olds that have disabilities. It’s called Esther P. Marinoff. Nat is actually 16. This helps power a decision that the school has had in mind for years.

Al Capone hears about this, some how and helps Moose with something… Something that could change the Flanagan’s life forever

The reason they moved onto Alcatraz is because they needed money, and Moose’s dad became an electrician on Alcatraz. They live in building 64, the main housing building.

There is a warden, he has a daughter named Piper Williams. They have money and live in a giant mansion. She seems nice and attractive at first, but is stuck up, sensitive and rude. She persuasively lores Moose into a laundry scheme. Since there is no school on Alcatraz, they attend school in San Francisco. Piper tells all of the kids that Al does their laundry. It’s true. She collects money from the kids to let them have their clothes washed by Capone. But when Moose’s laundry comes back, (he doesn’t need to  pay, because he lives on the island) There is a note from Al Capone… In Mooses laundry. I would recommend this to people who like mystery and history books.

This is the first book out of 3 books.