Dear Gennifer Choldenko,
Your book Al Capone Does My Homework not only showed me that historical fiction isn’t always obscure and out-of-date, but also gave me a friend who understood what it is like to have a sibling with autism. Before reading this book I had always thought historical fiction was just a boring story about a bunch of girls with big fluffy dresses who talked in British accents, but this novel showed that the genre can be so much more. The kids in the book reminded me of kids at my school even though there is a century separating us, and we have similar predicaments. One example of that is when my friend didn’t know whether she was still dating a boy she danced with at a mixer and hasn’t seen since, which was the exact same situation Moose got into in the book (he kissed Piper, but since then she never talked to him at all so he didn’t know at all what to think). Then when Moose and his friends compete to see who can throw the bottle caps the farthest, I remembered doing the same thing with my good friend except with a baseball (she almost always won though). After reading these stories, I was excited to read more historical fiction, and I did better on tests on historical fiction novels because I had been attentive and excited the whole time I read them. History also excited me more because now I know that some of the kids even centuries ago could be just like me! The thing that I loved most about the book though was Natalie, Moose’s sister, because I too have a sibling with autism. Moose knew what it felt like to be a sibling to someone with autism and instead of bullying her or taking pity on her, he just accepted her and treated her like a normal sibling. I think that that is something only a sibling can do. This was especially important to me because at the time I didn’t know anyone in that position accept for my younger brother who was in two grades below me, which feels like a lifetime away. Moose was a great friend to me, one who understood what it felt like when your sibling embarrases you in public. What I really loved the most about Moose that when Natalie was accused of setting a fire at their house, he never stopped supporting her. I also thought that you did an amazing job at shining a light on the beauty of Natalie, and how though she might not be able to express herself she is still very smart. You did this best in the scene in which Natalie says “Alcatraz three hundred and seventeen”(204) to the antagonist, Donny. Throughout the book you had shown that Natalie was amazing with numbers, and if anyone else got sent to alcatraz this would be their number. It freaked Donny out, but as Moose says at the end “When it comes to numbers, Natalie never makes a mistake”(204). You had Natalie end the book, but not as a disabled person, but as someone who only needs to say one number to make herself understood. I have never seen this positivity towards someone with special needs in a book before, and hopefully there will be more of it! Once again I would like to thank you for writing a book that changed my life by opening up the world of historical fiction for me and giving me a friend (he may be fictional but understands me better than any real person) who gets what being a sibling to someone with special needs is like. I hope you will continue writing your books, and keep Moose, Natalie, and the rest of the characters alive!
Sincerely, Astri
