City of Orphans

City of Orphans

By Avi

5 ratings 5 reviews 23 followers
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 4 - 8Grades 2 - 8V3.560087
The streets of 1893 New York are full of life: crowded, filthy, dangerous. If you are a newsboy like thirteen-year- old Maks Geless, you need to watch out for Bruno, leader of the Plug Ugly Gang whose shadowy, sinister boss is plotting to take control of all the newsies on the lower East Side. With Bruno’s boys in fierce pursuit, Maks discovers Willa, a strange girl who lives alone in an alley. It is she, stick in hand, who fights off the Plug Uglies--but further dangers await. Maks must find a way to free his sister Emma from The Tombs, the city jail where she has been imprisoned for stealing a watch at the glamorous new Waldorf Hotel. Maks, believing her innocent, has only four days to prove it. Fortunately, there is Bartleby Donck, the eccentric lawyer (among other employments) to guide Maks and Willa in the art of detection. Against a backdrop alive with the sights and sounds of tenement New York, Maks, as boy detective, must confront a teeming world of wealth and crime, while struggling against powerful forces threatening new immigrants and the fabric of family love. 
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9781416971085
ISBN-10: 1416971084
Published on 9/25/2012
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 368

Book Reviews (5)

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Back in 1890s, there is two children, their names are, Maks Geless, the 13-years-old and one girl who just saved Maks` life from the gang called, Plug Uglies Gang, her name is Waddah "Willa" Brunswick. Many months before Maks met Willa, her father, Mr. Brunswick left her, after Willa`s mother`s death, so I think that Willa and Mr. Brunswick are father and daughter for each other. The name of Waddah is from Germany, then when Willa moved to U.S. her name is changed to the name of Willa. Maks` sister, Emma, was arrested, taken to the jail, because some rich man, (possibly Mr. Brunswick) accused her of stealing the watch, for which Emma didn`t, so, the Geless family relied on Maks and Willa about solving the mystery of Emma`s arrest. Maks and Willa met an detective, Mr. Donock, who is almost deaf, was gravely ill but he did teach Maks how to be a boy detective. There`s a gang what is called "Plug Uglies Gang", its leader, Bruno, and his gang was after the "newsie" (the newspaper kids). Then in the ending, the two men, Bruno and Mr. Brunswick was killed, Bruno shot and killed Mr. Brunswick and Mr. Packwood (Mr. Donock`s detective friend) shot and killed Bruno, in the hotel what called, Waldorf Hotel. This book shows the readers about 1890s and the children having to work, to earn some money for their families. I rate this 5 stars and I will totally recommend this book!

This book is amazing in there details and all of the dialogue is included a lot. I recommend this book it you like action and sadness.

This was a sad, happy, and informational bok. Maks and Willa are brave smart characters. I really recommend this book to everyone.

It's a really good old fashioned tale

City Of Orphans is really good. It helps you feel like what it would be like with out parents. It is about a boy named Maks who finds this orphan named Willa in an alley. Later on Maks finds out that his sister Willa is in jail because she is accused of stealing a golden watch. The suspense makes you not want to put the book down.:)