Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer

By John Grisham

Dutton Children's Books, 2010. 263 pages. Mystery.

ISBN: 9780525423843

Reading/Interest Level: Ages 11+

Curriculum ties: Law, justice

Booktalk Ideas: Men of the law: Talk about how Theodore is often a legal consultant for his friends and why.

Challenge Issues: N/A

Challenge Response: First Defense File

Reader’s Annotation:

With two attorneys for parents, Theo knows a lot about the law, perhaps more than some lawyers. When a major murder trial is brought to his town, he’s first just fascinated by it, but then gets dragged into the middle.

Plot Summary:

Thirteen-year-old Theodore Boone is obsessed with the law, his parents are both lawyers, and he plans on either following in their footsteps, or becoming a judge. Because of his extensive knowledge about law, Theodore often is sought out by his friends for advice and help understanding situations their families are in.

One of Theodore’s favorite past times is visiting the courthouse and watching the proceedings, so when a major murder case is up Theodore can’t wait to see what happens. Then it turns out that one of his friends has evidence that could completely change the trial, but he refuses to testify. Based on what his friend tells him, Theodore knows that the murderer is guilty, but the defense has caused the jury to doubt his guilt and he’s on the verge of walking free. Theodore wants to make sure that the murderer gets the justice he deserves and protect his friend, but it’s not going to be easy.

Critical Evaluation:

Originally I was worried that, as a John Grisham novel I would find this boring and be confused by legal jargon, but I was pleasantly surprised to find just the opposite. In fact, he made this book extremely accessible and I never felt he was dumbing things down for me.

Theodore Boone is someone I would want as a friend, and not just because of his understanding of the law. He’s a good hearted teen with a lot going for him. In fact, that might be his flaw. Apart from being young and unable to take over the courtroom himself, I couldn’t find anything wrong with Theodore Boone. He’s the perfect role model, that, while he is a great role model, he’s not quite realistic. He’s a little bit flat for me, and I think so were some of the other characters. They did what they were meant to do and served their purpose, but the characterization seemed simplified. They were not the complex characters that teens can more easily relate to. I’m grateful that the legalese was simplified, but not the characters. I think that’s the only thing that made the book feel a little flat to me.

About the Author:

Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, John Grisham was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby--writing his first novel.

Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. Realizing he didn't have the right stuff for a pro career, he shifted gears and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation.

One day at the DeSoto County courthouse, Grisham overheard the harrowing testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim and was inspired to start a novel exploring what would have happened if the girl's father had murdered her assailants. Getting up at 5 a.m. every day to get in several hours of writing time before heading off to work, Grisham spent three years on A Time to Kill and finished it in 1987. Initially rejected by many publishers, it was eventually bought by Wynwood Press, who gave it a modest 5,000 copy printing and published it in June 1988.

That might have put an end to Grishams hobby. However, he had already begun his next book, and it would quickly turn that hobby into a new full-time career. When he sold the film rights to The Firm to Paramount Pictures for $600,000, Grisham suddenly became a hot property among publishers, and book rights were bought by Doubleday. Spending 47 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, The Firm became the bestselling novel of 1991.

The successes of The Pelican Brief, which hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and The Client, which debuted at number one, confirmed Grisham's reputation as the master of the legal thriller. Grisham's success even renewed interest in A Time to Kill, which was republished in hardcover by Doubleday and then in paperback by Dell. This time around, it was a bestseller.

Since first publishing A Time to Kill in 1988, Grisham has written one novel a year (his other books are The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Chamber, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, The Partner, The Street Lawyer, The Testament, The Brethren, A Painted House, Skipping Christmas, The Summons, The King of Torts, Bleachers, The Last Juror, The Broker, Playing for Pizza, and The Appeal) and all of them have become international bestsellers. There are currently over 225 million John Grisham books in print worldwide, which have been translated into 29 languages. Nine of his novels have been turned into films (The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, A Time to Kill, The Rainmaker, The Chamber, A Painted House, The Runaway Jury, and Skipping Christmas), as was an original screenplay, The Gingerbread Man.

-from Amazon.com author page-

Justification of Selection:

This book is full of positive role models, and the protagonist is motivated by his desire for justice. Since John Grisham often writes for adults, this is a good stepping stone for kids to become interested in legal thrillers that are appropriate for their age, before getting into more mature books as they grow up. This is geared more toward middle grade readers, but I think the legal material would potentially appeal to older teens too.