Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko
This picks up not long after Al Capone Does My Shirts leaves off Moose is still twelve, Piper the warden’s daughter is still a whole lot of trouble in a very pretty package and Moose’s gang of Alcatraz friends are still his main social life. Natalie is still an important part of the book, but she has a much smaller role.
Rather than focus on Moose and Natalie’s relationship, this book is about many different types of relationships. Rather than making choices between right and wrong, Moose and his friends find that there are very many shades of gray when it comes to how you treat people and whom you can trust.
I really enjoyed it, even if I wasn’t so sure about keeping Al Capone in such a nice guy role. And although I didn’t mention this in my review of Al Capone Does My Shirts, but sometimes Moose’s talk about Natalie can be negative. I think it’s a good opportunity to talk about perspective as well as historical context. There’s also some gender stuff, such as Jimmy being told “you throw like a girl”.
Age Recommendation: Grades 6 and up. Despite taking place so soon after its predecessor, Al Capone Shines My Shoes is probably best saved for a slightly more mature audience. Piper’s charms do not go unnoticed by the boys, so there’s definitely additional boy-girl tension (and a smidge of action) throughout. Additionally, one of the main characters has to grapple with the possibility of losing a parent. And then of course, there’s the main action of the story which involves prisoners taking hostages.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – Moose mentions something that he’d rather run buck-naked down a San Francisco street than do. There’s some discussion of kissing. Piper’s mom is pregnant and Moose is uncomfortable looking at her round belly, he says he can’t help thinking of how it got that way. Piper tells her father Moose is a ladies’ man. Moose gets asked how many kids he wants to have. There is some kissing. Natalie gets a love letter.
Profanity – “crap” several times, “take a leak,” “darn” a few times, “H.” abbreviated just like that, “crapper,” “Mother of God,” “gar darned”,
Death, Violence and Gore – There are references to machine guns and automatic rifles because of the story taking place on Alcatraz. A brief discussion about a cat who would play with a mouse before eating its head off. Annie’s concerned that Capone could kill Moose. There is an attack and some injuries.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – The doctor gives the baby whiskey and milk to calm him. The girls say that a gang operation would involve whiskey. Two of the fathers get written up for being drunk on guard duty, but it’s a set up. At a party beer is served for adults.
Frightening or Intense Things – A baby nearly chokes to death. A parent of one of the characters is very sick and the possibility of her dying is discussed. The prisoners take some hostages.
