Al Capone Does My Homework
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Alcatraz Island in the 1930s isn't the most normal place to grow up, but it's home for Moose Flanagan, his autistic sister, Natalie, and all the families of the guards. When Moose's dad gets promoted to Associate Warden, despite being an unlikely candidate, it's a big deal. But the cons have a point system for targeting prison employees, and his dad is now in serious danger. After a fire starts in the Flanagan's apartment, Natalie is blamed, and Moose bands with the other kids to track down the possible arsonist. Then Moose gets a cryptic note from the notorious Al Capone himself. Is Capone trying to protect Moose's dad too? If Moose can't figure out what Capone's note means, it may be too late. The last heart-pounding installment in the New York Times bestselling, Newbery Honor-winning Alcatraz trilogy is not to be missed! "Superlative historical fiction." -- School Library Journal (starred review for Al Capone Shines My Shoes)
Series
Featured Series
3 primary books#3 in Tales from Alcatraz
Tales from Alcatraz is a 3-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 2004 with contributions by Gennifer Choldenko.
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I have conflicted feelings about the resolution of the conflict concerning Natalie and eye contact. I do think that it's important for an autistic person to know what non-autistic people will expect from them, and in the context of the horrific eugenics against disabled people in the 1930s it would be absolutely necessary for Natalie's personal safety to mask, but the way the narrative conveys this doesn't do a lot to question the reasons for the goal of Natalie passing as nondisabled.
I do like how Natalie is a highly developed character who's presented as a full person with her own thoughts instead of a collection of behaviors. She expresses that eye contact is “too much.” She's able to force herself to do it in order to visit her father in the hospital, which is important to her, but after that, I find it very hard to believe that she would continue the making-eye-contact game for interactions of less consequence than “I have to make eye contact in order to be allowed to see my dad, who is severely injured.”
