Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Bookworm9

Twelve-year-old Moose and his family have a new address-- Alcatrez. After moving to the same island as the famous prison after his dad is hired as a guard there, Moose is sure his life is going to be boring. But his conniving neighbor, Piper, draws him into her crazy schemes, which include charging their schoolmates to have their laundry done by Al Capone, Alcatrez's most famous inmate. (It's 1935.)

But Moose has bigger problems than Piper, such as his sister Natalie, whose autism is destroying the family, particularly their mom, whose overprotectiveness of her daughter and her insistance that someday Natalie will be "cured" is ruining her ability to have a relationship with Moose. One of the reasons for the move to Alcatrez is so Natalie can attend a special school nearby-- but the fact that Natalie is fifteen (even though her mother claims she's ten) is ruining her chances to get accepted. It may take a favor from a higher authority-- like Al Capone.

This is a great book about the relationship between siblings, and what it was like growing up with a "special" child.