"Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko

This book is a lot of fun and has an interesting look at history. Moose and his family has just moved to Alcatraz Island. His father is going to be working on the island and his sister Natalie will be going to a special school in San Francisco. Moose is not too thrilled to be leaving his life behind, but as the novel progresses, he gets used to be the neighbor of many notorious criminals including Al Capone himself. Because Natalie is different from other children (in the author's note, Choldenko describes how Natalie has autism, it just wasn't specifically known about during the time frame of the novel) and because of this, Moose is under the watchful eye of the warden while Natalie is staying with her family on the island. But even so, he still gets caught up when the warden's daughter, Piper conceives a plan to charge their classmates to have their clothes cleaned by the convicts of Alcatraz. This book is full of laughs and contains many facts from Alcatraz's history.

Part of this book's appeal for me was that I have visited Alcatraz. I love when I can read a book and actually visualize the location, not just have to imagine what it may look like. I also love that Choldenko includes that author's note at the end of the novel that gives further back story into the history of Alcatraz Island. I love when a fiction book can be paired with a non-fiction book so as a way to better spark the interest of kids and this is a perfect example of a book that can do so. This book also touches on the fact that the Great Depression was also taking place during this time. Al Capone Does My Shirts is a great book, especially for boys who will probably enjoy reading what it may have been like to live on such an island.

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Lola and the Boy Next Door" by Stephanie Perkins

I Love Lola!    Lola and the Boy Next Door  by Stephanie Perkins is a fantabulous book!  In this companion to   Anna and the French Kiss, we meet Lola, a San Franciscan being raised by her two fathers.  She has an amazing sense of fashion, an older "bad-boy" and in a band boyfriend, and just realized that the Bell family has moved back in next door.  She has been dreading this day ever since the family moved out several years before.  Her entire world is about the turn upside down and her relationships with just about everyone in her life are going to change forever.

So, if you've read my earlier post, then you know that I wasn't crazy about Anna and the French Kiss.  While I enjoyed it, I felt that it was a very generic piece of YA fiction.  This was not the case with Lola.  I felt that her character and her experiences were quite unique.  She goes through many of the same ups and downs that you can expect in a book about a teenager (especially when two guys are involved) but it didn't feel like I was reading the same story over and over again.  Lola is awesome!

One thing that I absolutely LOVE about Lola is her fashion.  I felt that the outfit modeled on the cover didn’t even come close to the way I envisioned Lola in my head (and frankly, the model looks a little too posed and uncomfortable if you asked me).  As I was reading, I couldn't help but envision Lola in clothing I have seen on the website SmarmyClothes.com.  It was fun to actually have something to base my imaginings of the character on since I am very much a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl and have no real experience in the fashion world.  

While reading, these are the sort of
outfits I envisioned Lola wearing

SmarmyClothes.com

This book is definelty going on my "to-purchase" list (thank goodness for the library.  Otherwise I would be beyond broke) and will certainly be reading it again and again!

Happy Reading!
-Melly