As different as she and Bookacuda were, Emily knew how it felt to want to fit in and to want a place where you felt you belonged, but they handled those feelings in totally different ways. Bookacuda seemed like the type who would elbow his way into a group shouting, “Notice me! I’m awesome!” Meanwhile, Emily used to hang back and watch a group, wishing she could be a part of them and hoping one day they’d notice her and invite her to join them.
James leaned over to scan the crossword still open on her lap. “Hey, look at this one.” He tapped the page. “That’s a good one for you: Biblio larvae.”
“Oh! I’ve got it!” She adjusted her pencil and scratched in the letters to write out bookworm.
Matthew held out a hand, gesturing for the puzzle book. Emily gave it to him and he read through the clues silently. “Okay, here’s one for both of you. And Errol Roy, too: When a mystery is solved (two words).”
Emily and James grinned at each other and said in unison, “Case closed.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
As with the first two booksb in the Book Scavenger series, The Alcatraz Escape is a work of fiction, but I drew much of my inspiration from historical people and events. The characters of Errol Roy and Lucy Leonard sprang from my imagination, but here are some of the factual elements that guided me in creating their stories.
ALCATRAZ
Alcatraz island is a prominent landmark in San Francisco, best known for the federal penitentiary that housed infamous convicts like Al Capone and the Birdman in the mid-twentieth century. The island has been utilized for centuries, beginning with the Native Americans who originally populated that area.
When the Mexican-American War concluded in 1848, Mexico gave the United States a large territory of land, which included the area that would become California, and in 1849, the American military determined Alcatraz island would be a prime location for protecting the San Francisco Bay. Plans to build a fortress began.
The citadel that Lucy Leonard talks about was a real part of the military fortress. It existed from 1859 to 1908, when it was torn down to make room for building a new prison. The new prison was built over the citadel basement, which had consisted of kitchens, dining halls, and storage rooms for water and food. Many of these areas are still accessible and they are sometimes referred to as “the dungeon” of the Alcatraz federal penitentiary. In researching this story, I visited the dungeon as part of a “Behind the Scenes” tour on Alcatraz, but much of the old citadel space was closed off from tourists, so my scenes set there are a combination of in-person observations, research, and imagination.
The U.S. Army also built underground tunnels for their use in the military fortress, although many of them are buried, if they continue to exist at all. In recent years, a team of researchers has been identifying the remains of these tunnels and other military-era structures with the use of radar. This is the “reconstruction” I imagined taking place in the story that had A-Block and the dungeon closed off. The federal prison morgue was built over an old entrance to a military tunnel but, as far as I know, that tunnel is not actually accessible from that location.
1962 ESCAPE
There were multiple escape attempts from Alcatraz, but the Anglin brothers and Frank Morris’s escape in 1962 is the best known. The three men were all convicted bank robbers who spent months while on Alcatraz planning and coordinating their escape. They used their access to various prison facilities to stealthily make the props and tools that would aid them, such as a raft and life preservers sewn out of prison-issued rubberized raincoats, and dummy heads—decorated with real hair clippings from the barber shop—that were tucked into their beds on the night of the escape to trick any guard into thinking they were asleep in their cells. There was a fourth inmate, Allen West, who was supposed to join them that night, but he couldn’t remove his cell grate quickly enough and was left behind.
What happened to the men after they launched their raft into the water remains an unsolved mystery. No bodies were ever found, leading to speculation that the men may have survived, although the FBI investigation concluded that their plan was a failure and the men drowned.
The story of this escape, the planning and intricacies involved, is fascinating and if you’re interested in learning more I recommend reading Breaking the Rock by Jolene Babyak, who was a child living on Alcatraz, and whose father was the acting warden when the escape happened.
In addition to the 1962 escape, the character Errol Roy was inspired by a line I read in A History of Alcatraz by Gregory L. Wellman: “The average prisoner read about 75 to 100 books a year, and the National Parks Service claimed that the prisoners ‘read more serious literature than does ordinary person in the community.’” Roy’s character was also influenced by Dashiell Hammett, who began writing detective mysteries after a brief career as a Pinkerton detective during his convalescence from tuberculosis.
HARRIET BEECHER STOWE
Much of what Lucy Leonard shares about Harriet Beecher Stowe is true: She was a mother of seven and a prolific writer, best known for Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which was published in 1852 and became a fixture of the abolitionist movement. As Lucy says, Abraham Lincoln allegedly greeted Harriet Beecher Stowe at a White House reception in 1862 by saying, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war!”
Frederick Stowe was the fourth born of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s children. He was eleven when Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published and his mother was catapulted to fame. Frederick struggled with an alcohol addiction beginning at age sixteen. Between 1861 and 1865 he served in the Civil War in various infantries. In 1871 he boarded a ship headed for San Francisco. He wrote Harriet when he arrived in the city and mentioned plans to go to sea, but was never heard from again and his whereabouts remain an unsolved mystery.
The rest of Frederick’s story I created. There was no letter in Mark Twain’s belongings, and I imagine the possibility of a letter from Frederick Stowe getting misdelivered to Twain would be unlikely, as Harriet didn’t become Twain’s neighbor at Nook Farm until two years after Frederick had disappeared, but I thought it made for a good story.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Creating a book is something that feels simultaneously mundane and magical. I sit by myself in a room and type—mundane. This finished book you are holding in your hands—magical! It is a group effort that makes the magic happen, and I have immense gratitude for the following people who helped bring The Alcatraz Escape to life:
My editor and publisher, Christy Ottaviano, who always seems to understand the story I’m trying to tell better than I do myself. We’ve now created three books together, and every time, I marvel at the finished product. I feel so lucky to be working with you.
To my literary agent, Ammi-Joan Paquette, thank you for your steadfast support and encouragement, your brilliant eye for story, your kindness and friendship—I could go on and on, but in short: thank you for being awesome.
A group hug to the entire Book Scavenger team at Henry Holt and Macmillan for all the care and attention you have devoted to this series, including Jessica Anderson, Lucy Del Priore, Molly Brouillette Ellis, Katie Halata, Morgan Rath, April Ward, and Melissa Zar. A special shout-out to the production team for The Alcatraz Escape, especially production editor Starr Baer and copyeditor Karen Sherman, who worked wonders in a short amount of time and over the holidays.
Thank you to Sarah Watts for your fabulous illustrations. Discovering how you will bring scenes and characters to life is always a part of this process I look forward to.
To my dear Writing Roosters, thank you for helping me unravel this story. Your friendship means more to me than I can adequately express.
Thank you to the many people who answered questions for me as I researched various aspects of this book. At the risk of forgetting someone with whom I had a conversation that was instrumental in developing this story, I want to thank US Marshall Michael Dyke; George Durgerian, park ranger with the Golden Gate National Parks; Sylvia Rowa
n, San Francisco History Center librarian; Liz Austin and Bruce Creamer; Kristin Poirier and Mark Wolfman; Vanessa Harper; and my dad, Tom Chambliss.
Thank you to my friends and family for your encouragement, support, and enthusiasm for my books, and for being understanding when I’ve had to hunker down in Book Scavenger land.
Thank you to my son, who fills every day with light and laughter (and trains and Legos and superheroes), and to my husband, who is the best partner a writer could ask for. The Alcatraz Escape would not have been finished on time without your unflagging support and belief in my abilities.
And to all the readers, young and old, who have embraced Emily and James and have been eager to read another Book Scavenger adventure—thank you, thank you, thank you.
Don’t miss the other books in the Book Scavenger series:
A New York Times Bestseller
An Indie Next List Pick
A Junior Library Guild Selection
An NCTE Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts
A Bank Street College Best Book of the Year
A Scripps National Spelling Bee Great Words, Great Works List Selection
A PW Best Book for Summer
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
A Triple Crown Award Winner
A New York Times Bestseller
A Junior Library Guild Selection
“Brisk, bookish good fun for puzzle and code lovers.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A successful sequel … Readers who loved the first volume will find this follow-up even more satisfying.” —School Library Journal
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer Chambliss Bertman is the award-winning and New York Times–bestselling author of Book Scavenger and The Unbreakable Code, Books 1 and 2 in the Book Scavenger series. She lives in Colorado with her family.
Visit her online at jenniferchamblissbertman.com, or sign up for email updates here.
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Text copyright © 2018 by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman.
Illustrations copyright © 2018 by Sarah Watts.
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First hardcover edition 2018
eBook edition May 2018
eISBN 9781627799645
CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
Don’t miss the other books in the Book Scavenger series
About the Author
Copyright
The Alcatraz Escape Page 17
