The Prince of Steel Pier

by Stacy Nockowitz

Overview

Winner of the National Jewish Book Award

A Sydney Taylor Notable Book

Tablet Magazine's Best Jewish Kids Books of the Year

A young teen falls in with the mob, and learns a lesson about what kind of person he wants to be.

In The Prince of Steel Pier, Joey Goodman is spending the summer at his grandparents’ struggling hotel in Atlantic City, a tourist destination on the decline. Nobody in Joey’s big Jewish family takes him seriously, so when Joey’s Skee-Ball skills land him an unusual job offer from a local mobster, he’s thrilled to be treated like “one of the guys,” and develops a major crush on an older girl in the process. Eventually disillusioned by the mob’s bravado, and ashamed of his own dishonesty, he recalls words of wisdom from his grandfather that finally resonate. Joey realizes where he really belongs: with his family, who drive him crazy, but where no one fights a battle alone. All it takes to get by is one’s wits…and a little help from one’s brothers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728469362
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/01/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	248
Sales rank:	858,770
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	9 - 10 Years

About the Author

Stacy Nockowitz is a middle school librarian and former language arts teacher. She received her bachelor's degree from Brandeis University and holds master's degrees from Columbia University Teachers College and Kent State University. Stacy lives in central Ohio with her husband and their silly dog, Lily. The Prince of Steel Pier is her first novel.

Editorial Reviews

"Filled with mys­tery, may­hem, and mean­ing­ful rela­tion­ships, this fast-paced his­tor­i­cal nov­el will cap­ture any reader’s attention."―Jewish Book Council

From the Publisher

02/03/2023

Gr 4–7—The year is 1975, and Atlantic City is changing. Family-run hotels are being bought out, parts are becoming unsafe after dark, and gambling is about to be made legal. For 13-year-old Joey Goodman, it's a typical summer, playing Skee-Ball, hanging out with his three brothers, and working at his grandparents' kosher hotel. Everything changes when he catches the eye of local mobsters who start betting on his Skee-Ball games. Joey eagerly accepts their attention as part of the inner circle, especially from their charismatic leader, Artie Bishop, who gives him the important job of chaperoning Melanie, his teenage daughter. Between a crush on Melanie, lying to his family, and doing more favors for Artie, Joey quickly finds himself in too deep with the mob and must rely on his own courage, and his family, to get out. Written in the protagonist's first-person voice, this is an immersive historical fiction novel, based on some of the author's own experiences at her family's hotel. Alongside carefree boardwalk games and the intrigue of the mob, it is a coming-of-age story of Joey trying to prove his worth and find his place in his family. He has conversations about faith and religion and regularly experiences anti-Semitic comments. VERDICT This fast-paced middle grade novel will engage and resonate with readers. Recommended for school and public libraries looking to expand their historical fiction selection. Pair with Gennifer Choldenko's Al Capone Does My Shirts.—Marissa Lieberman

School Library Journal

2022-06-22
Thirteen-year-old Joey Goodman spends every August in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at his grandparents’ hotel.

It’s 1975, and the city is soon to become a gambling resort as old hotels are replaced with casinos. Joey’s passion is playing Skee-Ball at the boardwalk arcades. There, he attracts the attention of shady Artie Bishop, known as the king of Steel Pier, and becomes involved in Bishop’s unspecified criminal activities. Suave Artie engages Joey in conversation about the boy’s favorite book, The Once and Future King, and Joey begins to regard him almost as a new King Arthur. Artie offers him a job chaperoning his daughter, Melanie, when she comes to visit. After Joey finishes his unpaid waiter’s shift at the hotel restaurant each day, he lies to his family, meets Melanie, and they explore the piers’ seedy amusements. Joey falls for 15-year-old Melanie, and she regards him fondly but is attracted to his older brother Reuben. The close-knit Jewish family of four bickering brothers, parents, uncle, and grandparents (especially wise grandpa Zeyde) is lovingly portrayed. The descriptions of Joey’s ponderings about God (he’s had his bar mitzvah but is undecided) and Artie’s business dealings may not hold young readers’ interest, and the immersive setting could appeal more to adults old enough to remember the time and place. All characters are presumed White.

A tween gets in over his head in this introspective and nostalgic story. (author’s note) (Fiction. 10-13)

Kirkus Reviews