Al Capone Does My Homework
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
Al Capone is causing trouble for Moose Flanagan again - but this time, is it deadly?
It's 1936, and Matthew 'Moose' Flanagan lives on Alcatraz Island.
No, really.
His father's just been promoted to deputy warden - so Moose, his mom and his autistic sixteen-year-old sister Natalie are expecting to enjoy some new benefits, even if everyone says his dad's too nice for the job. The last thing they expect is for their apartment to burn down on his second day.
The tight-knit community of prison guards, their wives and their children are a mixture of welcoming and accusing - even the nicest people (heck, even Moose's mom) think Natalie probably had something to do with it - but Moose is sure she didn't. Nat's not dangerous, she's just... different.
Determined to prove his sister innocent, Moose and his gang of fellow 'inmate' children must work quickly to find out just who started the fire - and why. But what they aren't expecting is a note from an old 'friend' of theirs: Alcatraz's 'star boarder' and the most famous gangster in America - maybe even the world - convict #85. Al Capone...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This final installment in the life of Moose Flanagan, a boy who lives on Alcatraz Island during the 1930s, brings Choldenko's trilogy to a satisfying conclusion. The story opens with good news: Moose's father, Cam, has been promoted to associate warden of the island's infamous prison. But the new job makes Cam a target, and the family feels the backlash immediately when a suspicious fire breaks out at their apartment while Moose and his developmentally disabled sister, Natalie, are home alone. A malicious neighbor suggests Natalie started the blaze, inciting problems with the special boarding school Natalie attends. Mean-while, money is changing hands in odd ways around the island, and inmate No. 85 (Capone) sends Moose another cryptic note, written on Moose's homework ("Luckily, he wrote in pencil"), which helps Moose and his affable gang sort the good guys from the bad. Choldenko continues to infuse the Alcatraz community with warmth and originality (the kids play "rock, newspapers, shiv"). Despite being "the roughest hard-time prison in America," by the end of this winning series, it's also a place Moose comes to proudly call home. Ages 10 up.
