From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6–What happens when 12-year-old Nicholas Borelli II leaves the posh suburbs to live with his Grandma Tutti in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, one summer? Fugheddaboudit. Nicky's father hasn't been back to his boyhood home in years; the big-time lawyer left his Italian roots behind without a backward glance. Now Uncle Frankie wants to turn his preppy nephew into a
goomba…an Italian…from the neighborhood…who's been around…knows a few things. After meeting Sallie the Butcher, Jimmy the Iceman, and Oscar the Undertaker, and discovering Frankie's gym-bag arsenal, Nicky is convinced that his uncle is a hit man. In a few short weeks, the boy is sneaking into movies and running counterfeit bills with his new friend, Tommy Caporelli. He also meets a girl, learns to play stickball, saves his grandmother's life, and discovers the joy of Italian meatballs. When Tommy and Nicky agree to deliver bootlegged master copies of the computer chips for a hot new game, they are held hostage at gunpoint by some real gangsters. Nicky's dad and uncle, who turns out to be an undercover detective, save the day. The authors capture the flavor of an Italian household and neighborhood, sparing no stereotype. Though Nicky's foray into the world of petty crime has serious consequences, there is an underlying, boys will be boys attitude that could give impressionable readers the wrong idea. Still, the characters are well drawn, there's lots of action, and the protagonist is a likable hero. Even reluctant readers will enjoy this exciting summer-in-the-city adventure.
–Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Gr. 4-6. When his summer camp closes unexpectedly, suburban teen Nicholas Borelli is shipped off to stay with his Brooklyn grandmother so that his parents can take a cruise. Grandma Tutti attempts to fatten him up with her Italian cooking (a big improvement over his mother's organic vegetarian cuisine), while Uncle Frankie tutors him in the ways of the "goomba"--Italian American males living in New York and New Jersey. Nicky makes friends with a neighborhood boy, Tommy (who seems to know a million ways to make easy cash), and tries to reconcile his growing affection for his uncle with his fear that he works for the Mob. Schirripa (who portrayed Bobby Baccalieri on the TV series
The Sopranos) and Fleming have created a warm, funny story with memorable characters and enough shady intrigue to keep readers turning the pages. The closing scenes, in which Tommy and Nicky are locked inside a warehouse, hoping to be rescued, are particularly well done. Readers will be hoping for an encore.
Kay WeismanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
