The Prince of Steel Pier

Joey loves spending the summer in Atlantic City with his family. They stay with their grandparents, helping Uncle Sol run their grandparents’ hotel. The guests are older Jewish people who’ve been coming for years, but Atlantic City is changing. Gambling was legalized, casinos are moving in, and some unsavory characters are around. Joey gets noticed for his skee ball prowess by those characters, and it makes him feel powerful hanging with them, even working for the top guy chaperoning his very pretty daughter. But things get very dark. The only ones Joey can count on are his family, but he may have put them in terrible danger.

Stacy Nockowitz has written a very compelling story with rich, complex characters and tension throughout. The setting is one most young people won’t be familiar with, but it is an interesting time and place that will keep them engaged. There is also the foundation of the family’s deep and abiding Jewish faith, which young Joey is questioning, something quite common for kids that age. Joey feels left out with two older brothers who are close and a younger brother who is a star. This is a terrific book that should not be missed.