Point of View

Gennifer Choldenko tells her novel, Al Capone Shines My Shoes, in the first-person perspective from the point of view of main character, Moose Flanagan. Because Choldenko wanted to give a voice to a fictional character who lives on Alcatraz in honor of the real children who actually did in the 1930s, it is only natural that Moose should narrate his own story. The novel is, after all, about life on Alcatraz from a young boy’s point of view. Readers receive a firsthand account of that life from Moose himself. The things that Moose sees, thinks, and feels, are directly translated to the reader in first person as though Moose is personally speaking to the reader about the things going on. This engages readers and allows them to experience things just the way that Moose experiences them.

Language and Meaning

Gennifer Choldenko tells her novel...