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A review by kandicez
Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko
4.0
I wanted to think about this book before a review and while thinking realized it was a four star read, not a three star read. This is historical fiction for youth and I was thinking of it as an adult book. That's a compliment, because Choldenko does not speak down to her audience, but I lost sight of the fact that young adults/children reading this book would be learning a lot as they did so. It was so cleverly written that they probably wouldn't even be aware of it. That's my favorite kind of historical fiction.
Choldenko gives exquisite detail about like in the 1930s, but even better is that her glimpse into that decade is narrowed to what life not only as a prison guard's son would be, but what it would be like to live next door to criminals on an isolated by design island. She does a terrific job of setting the scene without seeming to do so. She shows, doesn't tell, and that's the best kind of storytelling there is.
I genuinely like Moose, the main character, and even more so because of his relationship with his sister Natalie. Natalie seems to suffer from Autism, but Choldenko doesn't ever say so. They didn't have a word for Autism in the 1930's, but the fact that she is able to convey that this is exactly what's going on with Natalie is fantastic. It reminds me of [a:Margaret George|6599|Margaret George|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1273256433p2/6599.jpg]'s [b:The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers|10108|The Autobiography of Henry VIII With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers|Margaret George|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439956289s/10108.jpg|2505877]. George was able to show us Henry had diabetes without ever once using the word. For Choldenko, my comparing her to George is the best praise I can think of.
Choldenko gives exquisite detail about like in the 1930s, but even better is that her glimpse into that decade is narrowed to what life not only as a prison guard's son would be, but what it would be like to live next door to criminals on an isolated by design island. She does a terrific job of setting the scene without seeming to do so. She shows, doesn't tell, and that's the best kind of storytelling there is.
I genuinely like Moose, the main character, and even more so because of his relationship with his sister Natalie. Natalie seems to suffer from Autism, but Choldenko doesn't ever say so. They didn't have a word for Autism in the 1930's, but the fact that she is able to convey that this is exactly what's going on with Natalie is fantastic. It reminds me of [a:Margaret George|6599|Margaret George|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1273256433p2/6599.jpg]'s [b:The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers|10108|The Autobiography of Henry VIII With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers|Margaret George|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439956289s/10108.jpg|2505877]. George was able to show us Henry had diabetes without ever once using the word. For Choldenko, my comparing her to George is the best praise I can think of.