I get to feature a fellow Arizonan today. Roberta Gibson's a scientist when she's not book blogging over at Wrapped in Foil. She's judging for us in nonfiction for tweens and teens this year, and she's provided a handy-dandy directory of all her reviews in this genre so far.
Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition
by Karen Blumenthal
Flash Point
Nominated by: Greg Leitich Smith
I'm putting the spotlight on a book on Prohibition not because I'm a booze hound (I'm on a diet that bans alcohol, alas) but because of the lessons it teaches about legislating morality. Or, as Roberta puts it, it's "a cautionary tale against writing national laws that are neither enforceable nor accepted by large portions of the population."
Roberta points out both her likes and dislikes about this account of our country's brief flirtation with temperance. The subject is clearly riveting — the book opens with Al Capone, and what could be boring about that? But Roberta also suggests ways Blumenthal could've dug deeper. It's a prime example of how to write a critical review that isn't necessarily a negative review — an issue that cropped up at Kidlit Con and elsewhere.
An excerpt:
… the author suddenly introduces Al Capone’s brother, Richard Hart, who turned out to be a lawman who arrested bootleggers and shut down stills. The contrast between the brothers is a startling one, but Richard Hart is only mentioned for two short paragraphs and then he disappears. I think the contrast epitomized how families were torn apart by Prohibition, yet the storyline was not developed.
Read the full review here.