Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham Review

Everyone’s heard of John Grisham, haven’t they? After all, Grisham has written dozens of great legal thrillers that are interesting and will keep you on your toes the entire time. So when Grisham decided to foray into the kids book world, a lot of people were super excited. Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer is the first in a series of books Grisham is writing for kids.

Theodore Boone was the first book I read by Grisham a few years ago. My mom was a big Grisham fan and thought I’d enjoy him on a little less intense scale. Now I’ve also read many many of Grisham’s adult books. Are they comparable? No, Grisham’s adult books are far better than his kids books so far. That doesn’t mean, however, that Theodore Boone is a slacker.

Summary

At the beginning of Theodore Boone we meet the main character, unsurprisingly named Theodore (or Theo) Boone. Both of his parents are lawyers, and at 12 he is also interested in becoming one. Or maybe a judge. He’s not quite sure yet.

A lot of the book is telling us about the legal system and how it works. It’s kind of dry, and also not that interesting. Most kids reading the book will probably already know it. It is interesting, however, to see Theo going to different court cases and even defending a hot girl in Animal Court.

It’s interspersed, however, with an exciting trial: Did Pete Duffy murder his wife? Boone’s small town doesn’t have exciting trials like that very often, and Theo is of course absolutely stoked.

Although the plaintiffs are mounting what looks to be a good case against Duffy, they don’t have any real evidence, and everyone knows that Duffy is going to walk. At least that’s what Theo’s Uncle Ike tells him, a former lawyer who was kicked out of the profession.

Theo loves watching the trial, but he never thought he would have any actual involvement. Until he meets Bobby, a young immigrant who witnessed Duffy on the day of the murder. With Bobby’s testimony, Duffy may be locked up behind bars.

The problem is that Bobby isn’t just an immigrant; he’s an illegal immigrant. Bobby is afraid to step forward because the authorities will catch him if he does. Theo tries to convince him that they will grant him citizenship in return for his information, but Bobby just doesn’t know.

Grisham, being smart, doesn’t let us know what happens to Duffy yet. Instead, he makes us read the next book. He leaves us wondering what other adventures will Theo have? And, more importantly, will a murderer be let free?

Review

I mainly enjoyed Theodore Boone while I was reading it for the parts about Theo going to different trials and seeing the outcome. I used to watch judge shows for hours, so that kind of thing is interesting to me.

Really, though, I don’t think this is a particularly good book. Although Grisham presents his characters clearly, we get very little identification with them or learn to care for them. That would be fine if this book was as much a thriller as his others. But it isn’t.

Very little action actually takes place in this book. Sure, the murder trial is entertaining, but Grisham gives us very little reason to care about it and also mostly ignores it in the next books. I would be fine with the way it developed in this book if it was solved in the next, but instead book 4 is already out and we are no closer to Duffy either walking free or being put behind bars.

Some intellectual kids like me might enjoy the book, but the fact is that there are far better kids books than this. For a twelve year-old, this book may alienate Grisham. Better to wait a couple of years and have them read the thrillers. That’s where Grisham got his name, not from twelve year-old Theodore Boone.

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