Queen Anne Books

A few years ago, I reviewed Choldenko’s first novel about Moose Flannagan (Al Capone Does My Shirts), a young boy living on Alcatraz Island in 1935. Moose is back in a new novel which, once again, is funny, surprising and utterly real.
This sequel picks up right where the first novel left off; Moose’s sister Natalie has been accepted to a special school thanks to the intervention of Alcatraz’s most famous con, Al Capone. Though there wasn’t a name for Natalie’s condition in 1935, today we call it autism, so she has struggled with fitting in, particularly on Alcatraz. Moose and his parents are excited and relieved Natalie is going to have a chance to get the specialized care she deserves. And life for Moose becomes as normal as you can get living in a high-security prison where guards with guns patrol the grounds and a prized possession is a convict baseball (a baseball used in a convict baseball game). Normal, that is, until he receives a note from Al Capone in piece of laundry which says, “Your turn.” Capone wants a favor in return for helping Natalie get into her school. Thus begins Moose’s latest adventure filled with humor and a little danger!
Because this second novel includes a continuing storyline and familiar characters introduced in Al Capone Does My Shirts, it is important to start with the first book before moving on to Al Capone Shines My Shoes. But both books are terrifically entertaining reads and highly recommended! ~Patti