Author: Gennifer Choldenko
Publisher & Date: Puffin Books, 20 Apr 2006
Page Count: 288 pages
ISBN: 978-0142403709
Age/Reading Level: 10-12 years/Grades 5-7
Representation: Autistic main character
Other information: Part of the Tales From Alcatraz Series
Book Information
Today I moved to Alcatraz, a twelve-acre rock covered with cement, topped with bird turd and surrounded by water. I’m not the only kid who lives here. There are twenty-three other kids who live on the island because their dads work as guards or cooks or doctors or electricians for the prison, like my dad does. And then there are a ton of murderers, rapists, hit men, con men, stickup men, embezzlers, connivers, burglars, kidnappers and maybe even an innocent man or two, though I doubt it. The convicts we have are the kind other prisons don’t want. I never knew prisons could be picky, but I guess they can. You get to Alcatraz by being the worst of the worst. Unless you’re me. I came here because my mother said I had to.
Challenges & Bans
Challenged in school districts for featuring references to prison.
Awards & Accolades
Newbery Honor Book, New York Times Bestseller, People magazine “Best kid’s Book”, ALA Book for Young Adults, ALA Notable Book, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Kirkus Reviews Editor’s Choice, San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year, Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Book, New York Public Library “100 Titles for Reading and Sharing” Selection, New York Public Library Best Book for the Teen Age
