Al Capone Shines My Shoes

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko is the sequel to Al Capone Does My Shirts, a Newbery honor book I read a few years ago.  The book again follows Moose and his family and friends who live on Alcatraz Island--alongside the nation's worst convicts.  Moose's dad works as a guard on the island, and Moose's friends are the children of other prison employees.  The story tells what happens as the result of Moose asking Al Capone for a favor to help out his sister Natalie who has autism.

I really liked this book.  It was a fun book with lots of different but entertaining child characters.  The setting of the book is so unique that it just makes it a fun read, and the author adds a note at the end to explain what parts of the book were based on actual events that took place at Alcatraz.  The book kept me interested, so I finished it quickly.  I would definitely read another of these books if she wrote another one.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)