BOOK ONE: THEODORE BOONE SERIES. In the small city of Strattenburg, there are many lawyers, and though he's only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he's one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk - and a lot about the law. He dreams of being a great trial lawyer, of a life in the courtroom.
But Theo finds himself in court much sooner than expected. Because he knows so much - maybe too much - he is suddenly dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial. A cold-blooded killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth.
The stakes are high, but Theo won't stop until justice is served.
John Grisham is a well published author in our adult mystery and fiction sections of the library. The Theodore Boone series is his first foray into writing for a younger audience. When Eileen Goudge did the same shift in gears with her writing earlier in the year, she said it had been a major learning curve for her. I'd say John still has a tiny bit to learn about his younger audience.
This book reads like a front row seat to a thorough lesson in the US judicial system and mortgages which equals a certain amount of reading time that feels drawn out and a bit preachy. I think it's a great idea to teach kids the inner workings of the judicial system and the basics of issues like foreclosure and mortgages, but this fictional story didn't quite give these topics the entertaining shine I think the author was hoping for. I felt like I was back in class again and was vastly relieved there wasn't going to be a quiz or test at the end. For this reason alone, I think most junior fiction readers will pass on the series as a whole.
On a positive note, I enjoyed the basic idea of the story and the mystery to solve. There were some nice twisty turns that we could ride along and the end has a good cliff hanger to keep readers engaged. Personally, I logged enough time in the instructional sections to quash my curiosity of finding out what happens next.
- Miss Gevious
- Tue, 09/17/2013 - 17:19
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