Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko

I'm currently reading "Al Capone Shines My Shoes," by Gennifer Choldenko. It's the sequel to "Al Capone Does My Shirts," so it's all the same characters like Moose, and his sister autistic sister Natalie. The live on Alcatraz island right across from San Fransisco. In the story there is a few different complex situations going on. For one, Moose made a deal with one of the biggest gangsters at the time: Al Capone. Even though it's very dangerous, Moose wanted to get his sister into the special school for autistic children, and Al Capone made it happen. Another complex idea is that the wardens daughter, Piper; has a sick mother, criminals working in her house, but she still uses lies and sneaky ways to get what she wants.

With the deal Moose made he is always looking in his laundry; that Al Capone washes so that's he communicates with Moose. But it's more complex because he is constantly paranoid, and he always guessing what he will need to do for Al, and how he might need to repay Al. But Al helped Natalie get into a school while he was behind bars, he can pretty much do anything. Thea's the scary part for Moose, if he doesn't do what Al if saying, will Moose be beaten, or worse? The problem is that asking Capone for help was his last resort, because he really wanted to help his sister. So the lesson could; be careful who your associated with. This definitely applies because Moose could get in serious trouble is any found out he asked for help from an inmate, so his father would lose his job, and his family would get kicked off the island.

Piper can always get what she wants, even in the first book when she got Moose and the other kids on the island in trouble for selling Al Capone washed laundry, she got off with no trouble because she could pursued her dad that she is innocent. But this a problem because now she has criminals working in her house and how is that going to effect her behavior if they try to escape or kidnap her? Her stuck-up sneaky behavior will not help her then. No one wants to mess with her or get her angry because she can make anything happen with the warden of Alcatraz as her dad. That's not a good attitude, and even other grow ups don't want to mess with her in fear of losing their jobs or getting in trouble. Because her and Moose got in a fight, she told her dad that she saw his dad drinking on the job, which got him on probation. I think a lesson that Piper teaches is; keep your opinions to yourself, and sometimes it's good to go with the tide.

I think I've seen the underlying meaning in the action of the two main characters, Piper and Moose. I think Capone will not contact Moose again, but he does he's going to want Moose to something really simple. I wonder what will happen between Piper and her sick mom. An if her attitude will change when she gets a little sibling. Like maybe get happen, or if she will get meaner because she's so dramatic and won't be the star of attention any more.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

I recently finished reading "The Tale of Despereaux," by Kate DiCamillo. It's about a little mouse named Despereaux, which means "little disappointment". The last one of his mother's litter, with the big ears and odd habits like reading books instead of eating them - he was always the odd one. From the beginning of the book he started to fall in love with the princess that lived in the castle he lived in too. Though Princes Pea was the sweetest person in the castle, the mice had a "no talking to humans" rule. When he broke that rule along with others that all the mice had to follow, he was banished by the mouse council - even his parents - dungeon. He changed form the start of the book to the end by becoming a braver mouse, and develops friends who truly understand who he is.

He becomes a braver mouse after he escapes from the dungeon from the carnivorous rats. Though he is scared he manages to escape from the dark place. In the beginning of the book he could barely do anything he wanted like go out of the castle walls and listen to the King play music, just because he was afraid someone would find him and he would get in trouble. But doing those things and exploring was a part of who he was. I finally saw how his emotions changed when he decided to go back to the dungeon - even after he escaped - to save the Princess Pea. He loved Princess Pea even though it was against the rules, and was brave enough to do that too. He went back to the dungeon to save Pea from and another 12 year old girl named Mig that was being influenced by a rat named Roscuro to hurt the Princess by leaving her in the dungeon, then taking her place as princess.. From this point you could see how his fears were not a part of the new brave Despereaux.

In the beginning of the book no one understood Despereaux and who he was. His brothers, sisters, and parents never appreciated him or even liked him very much. He thought differently then the other mice, and no one liked that. Finally by the end of the book he found some people who went through the same problem of never being appreciated too. Those people were Mig - the little girl who was abused by her father then sold to another man who abused her, and Roscuro - a rat living in the dark that only wanted to see the light. After Despereaux went back for Pea he explained that locking Princess Pea in the dungeon wouldn't help Mig feel better about her self and would make Roscuro feel better about the way his dreams were crushed. But Despereaux now how friends that understood how it was like to be looked at differently.

I really did like this book for a second read and got to pick out clues from the author, and other details that I didn't notice from the first read. The story of Despereaux had a really nice theme of being who you are, and standing up for who and what you believe in - no matter the obstacles that try to distract you. Despereaux got his tail cut off, but even that didn't stop him form saving Princess Pea. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a detailed story and likes to immediately love the hero.

Make Lemonade by Virginia Ewer Wolff

Over the summer I read a book called "Make Lemonade" by Virginia Ewer Wolff. It's about a young girl named LaVaughn who's dream is to go to college. No one in her family has gone or anyone in her building. She lives in poor neighborhood, so to get money for college she relies on good grades and any extra money she makes.To make this money she gets a babysitting job form a single mother of 2, named Jolly. You can see the relationship between LaVaughn and Jolly change over the story when LaVaughn stays to help Jolly, even after LaVaughn's second thoughts about her, and also when she gets Jolly courses at her school to help her be a better mother.

You see how Jolly and LaVaughn's relationship is changing when LaVaughn stays to help Jolly even when Jolly loses her job and doesn't have money to pay her. Even before that LaVaughn's mom wanted her to quit because she believed Jolly was a bad example and "a bad single parent." And the only part of getting a job was to make money for college, her dream - or maybe just her mother's.
LaVaughn realizes that she wants to help Jolly and her kids 2 and 4 year old Jeremy and Jilly, whether she does or doesn't get paid. 

You also see how their relationship changes when LaVaughn helps apply Jolly for single mothers at her school. It would help Jolly be prepared for any situation, but also gives Jolly the education she missed when she dropped out of school. This matters because Jolly didn't want to go, and was offended at the thought of help because she thought that "she was just fine on her own". But  LaVaughn was persistent, and finally got Jolly the help she needed.

LaVaughn and Jolly's relationship is one of the most important besides LaVaughn and her mothers. The author give many examples throughout the story to show you how  LaVaugh's goal for monsy slowly changes to just helping Jolly. Just doing something to help the single mother her mother couldn't dislike more. This book gives you a good look at struggles that poorer people like Jolly go through, and what any single mother goes through any day. I really like this book and the lessons it showed about working together, and never giving up no matter the obstacles in your way.

Money Hungry by Sharon G. Flake

Over the summer I read "Money Hungry" by Sharron Flake. It's about a girl named Raspberry, and her and her mother struggle with the problem of homelessness. But Raspberry is the type of person who LOVES to make money, if she isn't, she's not very happy. Homelessness is - of course - a very serious issue with so many people and families everywhere, but this story really gives you and inside look on the issue. In the story Raspberry also deals with issues with her friendships and her money hunger. Over the story, her ideas change on the fact of how money can hurt you and help you, and how your family will always be there for you through all the ups and downs when you struggle.

Raspberry always thought that if you had money, then no one can hurt you, because the money you have will protect you. She would collect pennies, nickles, she would sell pencils and chocolate at her school to make money. In the book Raspberry said "some nights when I can't sleep I grab me  fistful of it and count it till I drop off snoring."When her mother got angry at her when she thought Raspberry had stolen money, her mom started throwing all of Raspberries money out the window. Literally. She had always thought money was such a helpful thing, that will protect you if you have it. But by the end of the book, and the fight she had with her mom, and the bulling she got from living on the streets when she was younger; she realized money can really hurt you too.

Her mom and her have been through Raspberry's dad leaving together, and through both the periods of time they had to live in junk yards or abandoned houses when they had hit rock bottom. Raspberry said in the story "Momma. Her and me usually tight." It just shows you that some people - especially your family. I know I can't do anything without my sister even though she and me can't stand each other most of the time. But I'm always happy that she's there.

I really liked this story and all the lessons to be thankful for your loved ones, and how money can effect your life in so many ways. It really gives perspective on living in the projects and how life can be hard at times, but you will always have something. Whether it'd be someone you love, or someone that loves you, and how you can't let money run your life.

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

The book I am currently reading is called "Al Capone Does My Shirts," by Gennifer Choldenko. It's about a boy named Matthew Flanagan, known as "Moose" because of his big size. It takes place in 1935 when Moose and his family move to none other than Alcatraz, an island filled with kidnappers, murders, and families. He moved so the family could support themselves financially better, and so his sister Natalie -  who deals with autism, can go to the Ester P. Marnioff school that is made to help teach and take care of children with autism. I can relate to him because Moose is angry about the move, and wishes more then anything that he could move back to Santa Monica, and sometimes he feels over shadowed by his sister, which I can also relate too.

I can relate to Moose moving, because I recently moved houses myself. It has been pretty hard on me, a REALLY different change. I mean, I haven't moved to an island filled with serial  killers -  but still. In the story Moose says, "I want to be here like I want poison oak on my private parts." I'm not going to get into the details, but I had to move because of a similar reason like his. But just like Moose, I had to realized it is something that is out of my hands, and it'd be better to accept and embrace the change, rather than throw a temper tantrum about it.

Sometimes Moose feels over-shadowed by his sister, like the less important child. Like in the book it says, "'I'll bet you took Natalie out this morning, didn't you?' The question comes shooting out before I can stop it.
'Oh for goodness' sakes, Moose,' My mother looks up from where she's jammed in the corner, scrubbing the ice box. 'You weren't even up.'" Sometimes my parents will give special privleges to my sister Juliet because she's younger, and has never tried it, ect. It's a different situation then having a sister with autism, because this paragraph would be much different if I could realte to Moose on such a personal level. If I was Moose, or in the same situation I would feel exactly the same - disgusted with my self when ever I had a jealous thought against my sister.

All in all I really like this book so far because of it's historical fiction, and how much I can relate to the main character Moose. I can't wait to keep reading and find out how Moose deals with his struggles, and what else I can relate too.

The Help by Kathryn Sockett

The book I finished reading is called "The Help" by Kathryn Sockett. It's about Skeeter Phelean, a woman who never looked the same as the others with her tall figure and messy hair, and her dreams of becoming a writer, instead of just a house wife.The book is written in a format so in different chapters you can have the narrator be 2 different main characters; Aibileen, and Minny both house maids working for the white women in Jackson, Mississippi. Skeeter wanted a great story idea that she could pitch to the big publishing company in NY, but needed a good idea. Better then good, no one had thought of before. She decided to write a book of short stories on the lives of "the help" working for the ladies in Jackson.

One of the things that influenced her to do this story was because racism was a big problem at the time in Jackson, MI 1962 (when the story takes place), and she thought of it as in issue, unlike her other friends who think colored people "are just too different than us." Even though Skeeter knows everyone is just a person on the inside know matter the skin color. Her friend Hilly started to make a "Home Help Sanitation Initiative" because "everybody knows they carry different kinds of diseases than we do," as Hilly would say. The initiative is a a letter urging/persuading people to not let the "help" use the bathrooms inside the ladies houses, but to build one outside to "keep everyone safe," something else Hilly said when she was talking about the initiative in the book.

Another one of the things that influenced Skeeter to write her story in the first place using Aibileen and Minny was the fact that no one had wrote about it before, must less talked about it or faced it directly. During the story many people from the Jackson community go march for equal rights with Martin Luther King, so there is parts of the story where Sockett shows how the time were changing at that period in time. I my opinion I think the people like Skeeter who didn't agree on the way African Americans were treated, were scared of what would happen to them if they spoke up. Which is why the book was written by anonymous, and all the names and places were changed. In the story a young "colored person was beaten blind just because he accidentally used the white person bathroom.

I really did like this story and the message Skeeter showed throughout the story of  not only fighting for what you believe in, but being brave. She could of stopped writing the stories whenever she wanted, but didn't. Some parts of this story I did find upsetting like when you would hear the characters talking about African Americans like they aren't even people, like weird aliens that have come to take over. But I'm not always interested in a realistic/ historical fiction story, but this really gave me a new opinion on how detailed this genre could be.

Am I Blue? by Bruce Coville

We recently read a short story called, "Am I Blue" by Bruce Coville. It's about a boy named Vincent who has to deal  with being bullied because people think he's gay. The story takes a twist when Vincent gets a fairy godfather named Melvin who helps him deal with the issue. Him himself is trying to figure that out his sexuality during the story, because he wants to know ''if he's blue". It's also the same issue Melvin had to deal with being bullied when he was alive too. As a resolution to the conflict of Vincent being bullied he uses one of his three wishes to turn everyone who's gay blue for a day so people can't ignore the fact that there are homosexual people everywhere, and it's okay. That is also one of the themes of the story.

Another theme of the story is "to be true to yourself, and just because it's said about you doesn't mean it's true." AT ALL. I think this because Butch Carrigan (the bully) calls Vincent "fruit" and other mean names because Butch thinks Vincent is gay. At one part of the story Melvin says,"the world is crawling with f*g*ts, but most of them are in hiding because they're afraid they'll get treated like you did an hour ago." After Vincent told him that word was impolite, Melvin told him that if you take back the language used to hurt you, it can't hurt you anymore.

Another theme of the story could be, "It's okay no matter who other people are." People all over the world are bullied because of how they might act or talk, but whether they are or aren't is no reason to be hurt. I read articles in the newspaper of gay marriage parades, and I think that's a good thing, nothing to be angry over. In the story they call the ability to tell if someone is gay or not "gaydar". If your darker blue  your gay, lighter blue your unsure like Vincent. after Vincent gets this ability he says, "Ms.Thorndyke, the librarian, who everyone knew was a lesbian, didn't have a trace of blue on her." Which could be a lesson on not judging people on what they might act or speak like. This is a really uplifting story about accepting who you and others really are.