'Tis by Frank McCourt

I ended up borrowing 'Tis from my aunt, so I was able to go from reading Angela's Ashes straight into 'Tis.  The two books flowed extremely well into each other, but 'Tis also does well as a stand-alone book.  McCourt provides background information flawlessly without boring someone who has read Angela's Ashes. As with Angela's Ashes, the narrative of this book is smattered with dialects, euphemisms, the English of the day as well as the incorrect English of the day.  This approach really draws you in and immerses you in the world that Frank McCourt was faced with during his life.  The dialects come and go as does the slang used by his students indicating the passing of time.  In contrast with Angela's Ashes, most of this book takes place in New York City.  The City becomes a character in the story as it tends to when any story is set there.  The City influences people unlike any other and McCourt does a good job of allowing this to show through without pointing it out.  As I read 'Tis, I found myself drawn to find out more about the passing references to Stuyvesant High School, the schedule of the Staten Island Ferry and other "characters" of the story - thankfully I had Wikipedia to rescue me! 

Another 5/5 stars!