Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer CholdenkoG.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2004

Alcatraz, 1935, from the perspective of Moose, a twelve-year-old kid who’s living on the island because his dad’s an electrician there. Historical details (Al Capone’s mother’s visit to the island, the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge) and family drama (but not melodrama). Much of the book is about the narrator’s sister, Natalie, who’s autistic; pleasingly, she’s a properly fleshed-out character (as are all of the kids and grownups in the world of this book).