Can you imagine having to live next door to some of the world’s worst criminals? Read Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko to find out how a boy had to live there. This book is a historical fiction because this story was taking place in the 1930’s. I picked this book because my teacher said it was a good book to read.
The main characters in this book are Moose, Natalie, Piper, and Moose’s parents. Moose loved to play baseball but unfortunately, he has to move away from his team in San Francisco. Natalie is Moose’s sister. Their parents like to say that she is 10 every year but really she is 16. She has autism and Moose doesn’t like it one bit. Piper is a girl that Moose first meets when he moves to Alcatraz. She is very bossy. Moose’s mom really wants for Natalie to go to a special school and is really sad when the principal doesn’t let her in. Moose’s dad found an all day job to work as a guard on Alcatraz island so Moose barely gets to spend time with him. This story takes place in the 1930’s on Alcatraz island.
Moose’s parents want Natalie to go to a special school but the school says that she is not ready yet. At first they tried to go into that special school but a day later the principal said that she should go to this other school that they didn’t want to go to. For a year Natalie went to the other school and she got better there. The next year they try to go to the school that they want to go to but the principal still doesn’t let her. Moose typed a secret letter to Al Capone, the most famous criminal that was in the Alcatraz prison at the time so he can somehow help Natalie get into the school.
The next day Moose finds out that the school that they want to go to made a special section for people like Natalie. Everybody was really happy. When Moose comes home and puts on his shorts, he finds a little piece of paper that Al Capone wrote saying “DONE”. When you read this, you’ll understand that even all bad people can do a good thing.
At first Natalie couldn’t go to the special school and got sent to another one. Moose wrote a letter to Al Capone saying to help his sister and he did. This story reminds me of one time when there was a girl that I knew. She wasn’t really nice to me. One day I needed some help at school and surprisingly - she helped me.. This is an awesome story and I couldn’t stop smiling at the end. I think this is a good book for everyone to read.