City of Orphans Book Review

I LOVE NEWSIES! I LOVE NEWSIES! I LOVE NEWSIES! Sooooo.... basically I LOVE NEWSIES! So when I saw a book about a Newsie at Half Price Books I HAD to get it!

A little about the book:

"The streets of 1893 New York are crowded and filthy. For thirteen-year-old newsboy Maks Geless, they are also dangerous. Bruno, leader of the awful Plug Ugly Gang, has set his sights on Maks and orders his boys to track him down. Suddenly Maks finds himself on the run, doing all he can to evade the gang, with only his new friend Willa by his side. And that’s just the start of Mak’s troubles. His sister, Emma, has been arrested and imprisoned for stealing a watch from the glamorous new Waldorf Hotel. Maks knows she didn’t do it—but will he be able to prove it in time?

This is a riveting, quickly paced adventure set against a backdrop alive with the sights and sounds of tenement New York."

What I enjoyed:
I know this is kind of weird, but I like books where boys are boys. You know they actually defend themselves and others, sometimes getting into fights. For some reason I like reading about the underdog, being bullied. Then literally rising above it, not without a fight though. ;)

I also love tom boys and girls that are not afraid to defend themselves and play rough. If you like this sort of thing, this is the book for you.

The third reason I enjoyed this book is I LOVE NEWSIES!!!!! If you don't then... I don't even know what to say to you...

City of Orphans was a boy and girl adventure but not a romance.

The conflicted thoughts about being a burden, being taken care of, and having the person who should have taken care of you do the opposite were a moving part of the storyline.

Who I'd recommend this book to:

     I would definitely recommend this book to all pre teens-teens. 11-14 seems the best age range, but younger readers will enjoy the thrill of the story, and older readers will enjoy an easy, but enthralling read.

A bit about the Author:

Avi is a wonderful children's literature author! I have read several of his books and enjoyed all of them. I hope to review The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle as well as Crispen: the Cross of Led, in the future! This author is so skilled in that he writes with a different style in every books. Some are in first person, some are not. All are perfectly written in the language of the place and time period. 

                                                                                                               Now to who the author is:

"Avi is part of a family of writers extending back into the 19th century. Born in 1937 and raised in New York City, Avi was educated in local schools, before going to the Midwest and then back to NYC to complete his education. Starting out as a playwright--while working for many years as a librarian--he began writing books for young people when the first of his kids came along."

Be sure to look for my upcoming review of Do Hard Things and Jupiter's Winds!