Attitudes/Disobedience - 34 Incidents: A boy argues with his mom, saying it isn’t fair that his dad spends time with his sister but not him. A boy doesn’t like to get in trouble and says it’s a curse. Moose is watching Natalie one afternoon when little Theresa Mattaman comes to the door and offers to show them around the island. Theresa excitedly tells Moose and Natalie about the famous criminals who are housed there, especially Al Capone. At the morgue, they meet Piper Williams, the warden’s daughter. Piper is attractive and abrasive, and Moose can tell that she is trouble. It doesn’t end with the family learning how to overcome life’s challenges together; no, that would be too good. Instead, it ends with Al Capone saving the day. That’s right – the convict. Autism takes a tremendous toll on families. Beyond the need to arrange for basic custodial care corresponding to the severity of the affliction, parents must wade through myriad treatment options that are variable and largely unproven. The search for an effective intervention, as is shown by the experience of the Flanagan family, requires tremendous commitment and expense, and even today there are no guarantees for success. In the process, Moose is robbed of his childhood, and his mother is literally driven to the brink of insanity.

I really felt like I was on the island with them, as well. Having it set on Alcatraz is really cool and you learn a lot about the island in the 1930s -- and of course, it's funny!

One of your negative reviewers mentioned "It's full of vulgar words and very violent." I know some people find the use of "Jesus", when not used as a religious reference, offensive. It occurs three times; there are no other "vulgar" words in the book. Theresa Mattaman comes by the apartment their first morning there and takes Moose and Natalie on a short tour of the island. They run into Piper, the warden's daughter, who immediately asks uncomfortable questions about Natalie. Moose does not like it when people assume Natalie is stupid simply because she is different. Piper's questions just make Moose dislike her. When Moose and Natalie arrive home, Mrs. Flanagan has a cake ready with the number ten on it, and the island children celebrate Natalie’s birthday. Afterward, Moose tells his mother that everyone can see that Natalie is not ten and that the only chance she has at Esther P. Marinoff is if they tell the truth. Moose’s mom objects, but for once his dad sides with him. Mr. Flanagan goes to Natalie and asks her how old she is, and she responds, “I am sixteen at 2:31 today.” A boy notices a girl’s “cut little movie star mouth. That long straight hair.” A girl holds hands with a convict. A girl is holding a convicts hand (he is much older than she is). The brother thinks this is terrible and it is good. A father teases his son about a girl. A father winks at his son and says, “girl trouble.” A father says, “walk your friends home, please … Or should I say your harem.” Later a friend says, “goodnight, you two” teasing about the boy and girl being together. “I want to be here like I want poison oak on my private parts.” A girl looks at an ink blotch on a boy’s pants, right next to his fly. Regarding nervousness: “You start thinking, you get your drawers all in a twist.”

With a name like Al Capone Does My Shirts, I was settled in for a good light read, not. Not that it isn't an easy read but there is pathos in this story of Moose Flannagan. Moose is the brother of a severely challenged sister, Natalie, who cannot function in society and is sometimes entombed in her own frightening world to the exclusion of even her family. During February and March, Natalie does not have a single fit and “seems easier and more present.” At school, Moose is paired with Scout on a project, and their friendship resumes as if nothing ever happened to interrupt it. Scout has heard that when the prisoners on Alcatraz play baseball in the recreation yard, a ball will sometimes go over the wall, and the children who find it get to keep it. Scout wants Moose to get him a “convict baseball.” In his riskiest move to date, Moose decides to take matters into his own hands and writes a letter to Al Capone—the infamous gangster at Alcatraz—asking him to use his connections to help his sister get into school. And guess what? Within days, Natalie is accepted into the Esther P. Marinoff School. Huh.Moose (Matthew) Flanagan’s family moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 at the height of the Great Depression. Moose’s dad has been hired as an electrician and guard at the prison and the extra income will pay for 16-year-old Natalie’s, Moose’s older sister’s, special needs education. Natalie is on the autism spectrum and at this time in history, it isn’t diagnosed, but there is a special school for children here that will help the Flanagans avoid sending her to a mental institution as was done in those days. Moose finally settles in and begins to appreciate this unique place he gets to call home. Who else can say they get their laundry done by the inmates - by Al Capone, nonetheless? How fortunate to be a family of a member of the prison staff. Autism hits really close to home for Gennifer Choldenko. Her sister Gina, whom she dedicated the book to, actually has autism herself. So Choldenko's depiction of Natalie, Moose's autistic sister, isn't just a throw away element of the plot; it's a major component to this story. Religious Profanity - 12 Incidents: For Pete's sake, goodness' sake, cripe's sake, thank God, oh my God, Sweet Jesus, Jeez, chrissake, Gee