Al Capone Does My Homework

In the Alcatraz of Al Capone Does My Homework, with its world-famous felons and sea-swept isolation, temptation is always in the air, and not just for the inmates or guards. Young civilians who live on the island may fall under the spell of the glamor and craftiness of its storied prisoners, who are well-learned in corrupting the naïve, romantic, and penniless. To the young, Alcatraz may pose more of a moral danger than a physical one. The twenty-something Donny Caconi, deep in debt to a loan shark, falls into the machinations of a renowned thief and counterfeiter, Count Lustig. He also takes up smaller, cruder rackets, such as card-cheating, bet-fixing, and arson. In Alcatraz’s tiny, isolated world, where families live just a stone’s throw from the cellblock and often have their laundry and other chores done by convicts, children, too, can be drawn into illicit behavior.

The character arc of the warden’s daughter, Piper Williams, reveals how young people’s moral decision-making can be complicated by corrupt influences and the allure of financial and social status. As the titles of Choldenko’s Alcatraz novels suggest, the thought that a “celebrity” criminal might be handling one’s personal belongings can be intoxicating, especially to a child.