A Bandit's Tale

Starred review from February 1, 2016
Rocco Zaccaro, the delightfully earnest narrator of this picaresque novel, never intended to become a “true guttersnipe” on the streets of 1880s New York City. Then again, he never intended to leave Italy until the day his family could no longer afford to care for him. After 11-year-old Rocco is sold into a life of slavery in this strange city, he joins a band of pickpockets to save enough money to break free from his destitute conditions. Rocco’s drive to prove himself and return to Italy steers him into a number of bad decisions, yet his heart guides him to fight injustices against both children and animals on the rough city streets: “As to whether I was good or bad, it should be quite apparent to you by now that I was far too muddled to know.” While Hopkinson (The Great Trouble) covers heavy topics including immigration, child labor, and animal
welfare, Rocco’s conversational voice resounds with humor, compassion, and an inspiring energy for change. A dynamic historical novel ideal for both classroom studies and pleasure reading. Ages 8–12. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

February 15, 2016
Italian immigrant and new New Yorker Rocco Zaccaro is not an unreliable narrator. Any time Rocco tells a lie or betrays someone who trusts him, he tells readers in advance exactly what he's going to do. In the very first chapter, he introduces himself as "Rocco Zaccaro, pickpocket, liar extraordinaire, and escaped convict, among other things." The old-fashioned, picaresque chapter headings are wonderfully informative. The caption for Chapter 4 is: "Containing a grave and shocking event that may disturb some readers." (The book is set in the late 1880s, and the headings feel both historical and meta.) The chapter includes a scary scene involving a knife, but the book has almost no big surprise plot twists. Rocco announces them all ahead of time. He sums up most of the story in his self-introduction. And yet, Hopkinson's writing is so inventive that it's almost impossible to guess what will happen next. Every scene contains a little surprise. Rocco may be a liar and a criminal, but, like the best unreliable narrators from other books, he's endlessly funny and clever. Even though--in the book's one predictable touch--Rocco gives up being a liar and a criminal, he's reliably entertaining till the end of the story. (map, historical notes, bibliography, pickpocket's glossary) (Historical fiction. 8-12)

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Starred review from February 1, 2016

Gr 4-7-As this lively, fast-paced novel attests, the streets of late 19th-century New York City were especially cruel to young immigrants trying to improve their chances of upward mobility. Eleven-year-old Rocco, newly arrived in New York after a misunderstanding caused by an obstinate donkey, is sold to a cruel and miserly padrone who sends "his" group of children to perform as street musicians. Anxious to fill his hungry belly and escape his wretched living conditions, Rocco joins a group of pickpockets, and although he's increasingly uncomfortable about taking people's money, he's able to justify his actions until he meets Meddlin' Mary, a young Irish girl who, with her father, is devoted to caring for the city's mistreated and overworked horses. Through his encounter with Mary and her father, Rocco is immersed in a new world, and he meets historical figures, including Jacob Riis, who were instrumental in social reform movements dedicated to improving the lives of children and animals. In a picaresque style, Rocco narrates his own journey from a street bandit to a prison escapee and ultimately to a young man dedicated to improving the lives of other immigrants. VERDICT A strong choice for fans of Rodman Philbrick's The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg (Scholastic, 2009) and those who enjoy adventures about scrappy and resourceful kids who have to rely on their own smarts and the kindness of strangers to change their lives.-Shelley Sommer, Inly School, Scituate, MA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2016
Grades 4-7 In an Italian hill town in 1887, a man approaches Rocco's father and offers to take his disgraced 11-year-old son, an accused bandit, to America. There his new employer cuts the boy's lip to create a distinctive scar and sends him out to beg. Rocco intends to make something of himself, but he is unprepared for the hardscrabble life in the slums of New York City. He becomes a self-described guttersnipe, liar, and pickpocket. Escaping from a boy's prison, Rocco finds temporary work with a good-hearted blacksmith, but it takes more than that to turn his life around. Rocco needs all his wits, determination, and courage as well. Hopkinson, whose Shutting Out the Sky: Life in the Tenements of New York, 18801924 (2003) also explored immigrants' lives, offers an eye-opening novel written from the point of view of a child who adapts, survives, and works for a better life. Incorporating several historical figures as characters, this thoroughly researched historical novel paints a vivid portrait of an unprotected street child during the period.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)