Review: Theodore Boone: The Activist by John Grisham

Theodore Boone: The Activist by John Grisham (May 2013, Hodder & Stoughton , ISBN: 9781444728934)

Thirteen-year-old wannabe lawyer Theodore Boone is back in his fourth adventure The Activist. The politicians for Theodore's home of Strattenburg want a bypass around the town to alleviate congestion. The plan is a controversial one and soon becomes personal to Theodore when his friend Hardie asks for his help. Hardie's family home and its substantial acreage, lie in the path of the proposed bypass and the US equivalent of a compulsory purchase order will be enacted, destroying it.

Theodore is pushed into helping Hardie after a violent confrontation with contractors on Hardie's land. Theodore works with the environmental group to fight the bypass. In addition he obtains some illegal information which would win the fight - but should he use it?

The Activist takes it time to get to the actual protesting as we follow Theodore briefly through a debating contest (ultimately relevant) and a lengthy scouting outing where Theodore is for once not portrayed as the golden boy (not so relevant). Overall however it is an uplifting tale if not totally plausible which should inspire younger readers. Aside from the disappointing The Abduction, the other three books in the series have been of a similar, solid, standard. We've had murder, kidnapping, victimisation. What's next for Theodore Boone and will we ever find out the reason for his uncle's disgrace?

There are some moral dilemmas in The Activist and the book includes a series of questions on these to spark further discussion.

As usual this is marketed at both teens and adults though the writing is aimed at slightly younger than teen I feel. Theodore knows the law but has to have the term bypass explained to him; he's also not a very fast cyclist as it takes him and April thirty minutes to cycle one and a half miles...ie walking speed.

Read my reviews of the first three books here.

Review: Theodore Boone: The Accused by John Grisham

Theodore Boone: The Accused by John Grisham (May 2012, Hodder & Stoughton , ISBN: 1444758470)

Review: Theodore Boone: The Accused is the third in the Theo series and takes place about four months after the first in the series, Theodore Boone. It returns to the case that Theo was following and getting involved in, in the first book: the trial of Pete Duffy for the murder of his wife. Theo's discovery of a witness forced a mistrial.

The retrial is about to begin but then there is a huge problem: Pete Duffy has disappeared. He can't be found and rumours start to fly that's he's skipped the country or jumped off a bridge.

Then Theo finds himself the target of a series of at first minor annoyances – a slashed tyre on his bike, items stolen from his school locker but then it becomes serious. Theo is accused of stealing some computers and phones from a down-town store and when the police check his locker there are some of the stolen items inside.

Theo's life becomes miserable. Everyone is talking about him, how the son of two lawyers is a thief. Theo protests his innocence and his family and friends support him but a trip to the Youth Court and worse, detention in a juvenile centre cannot be far away unless he finds out who hates him enough to frame him like this. Fortunately his uncle Ike, who has helped him before (in The Abduction) has an idea and Theo with the help of his friends, gets to the bottom of the matter.

The Accused is back to the standard of the first book thankfully, the second was a bit dull to be frank, and the tension doesn't let up in this one. Who and why are these horrible things happening to him? There is a strong moral message that if you are good, you will be found innocent and that your true friends will help you. The fact that the police don't immediately arrest Theo is slightly inexplicable as they don't seem to doubt that he's their "man". Being the son of two wealthy lawyers probably helps. I'm not altogether comfortable with some of the views expressed in this book. Theo describes a possible suspect for the burglary as "a quiet kid who seemed moody, often troubled, and who wore his hair a bit too long and listened to heavy metal". A couple of other things irked me: the fact that it's made clear that the Boone family eat out most nights and the parents share the cooking at home and yet the kitchen is still called Mrs Boone's, and this from a police officer who "..knew no woman would want the police or anyone else poking through their house".

Slightly old-fashioned views aside this is an exciting read aimed at a younger reader, I'd say quite a bit younger though than Theo's thirteen, but readers of any age should enjoy it.

As before, there are adult and children's editions.

Review: Theodore Boone: The Abduction by John Grisham

Theodore Boone: The Abduction by John Grisham (June 2011, Hodder & Stoughton , ISBN: 9781444736939)

Review: The Abduction is the sequel to the variably received Theodore Boone, from veteran crime writer John Grisham, which introduced the eponymous thirteen-year-old lawyer in training.

The first book left rather a lot of unanswered questions and unfortunately they aren't resolved in this book but look to be picked up in the third; rather The Abduction deals with the disappearance of Theo's friend April who vanished overnight from her home with no sign of broken entry.

When the police hear that a distant cousin of hers, whom she has been writing to, has escaped prison and returned to April's town of Strattenburg, they immediately begin a manhunt. At the same time Theo and his friends carry out their own search.

There will be some tense and sad times ahead before Theo cracks the case ahead of the police.

There's not much to the plot so I can't say any more than that. I didn't enjoy The Abduction as much as Theodore Boone unfortunately. Not a lot happens and there isn't much development of the scenario of the family, the estranged brother/uncle, and April's not in it much at all. For me it was a pleasant diversion but not a book I couldn't put down. There was one scene, which I can't reveal, that I felt rang false and if the bods from CSI or Dr Brennan from Bones had been around then the story could have moved a little quicker.

As an experience crime fiction reader (and tv viewer) this didn't really grab me but I'd love to hear from younger readers about what they thought of it. I will read the next book as I'm expecting that to be more courtroom based than this was.

NB. As before, there are both adult and YA editions.

Theodore Boone news

Theodore Boone by John Grisham is now out in paperback. I reviewed the hardback, last June.

The sequel, Theodore Boone and the Abduction is due out 9 June from Hodder and I read in this week's Bookseller that two more books are planned in the series.

Review: Theodore Boone by John Grisham

Theodore Boone by John Grisham (June 2010, Hodder & Stoughton , ISBN: 1444714481)

First Line:
Theodore Boone was an only child and for that reason usually had breakfast alone.

Review: Theodore Boone is the first in a series of young adult novels by best-selling thriller writer John Grisham. Theo Boone is thirteen years old, extremely bright and born into a family of lawyers. He can't decide whether to be a lawyer or a judge when he grows up and is already offering free legal advice to his class-mates.

Theo lives in Strattenburg and a most dramatic trial is about to take place. Pete Duffy is on trial for the murder of his wife at their exclusive gated-community home.

The trial will be a battle of wits between two top lawyers and Theo is desperate to follow it. However not only is he going to be observing the action but he will play a crucial role in the trial's outcome...

I enjoyed Theodore Boone. Theo is a likeable character who is not afraid to hand over the tricky problems to the adults, whilst keeping his promises to his confidants. This is quite a cozy almost idealistic read - Theo's family is liberal and help out in the community, Theo travels everywhere by bike, all the Courthouse staff love him and rather than being bullied at school his expertise is sought. The plot is quite straightforward but holds the interest nonetheless. The writing is quite simple and seems to be aimed at younger teens eg Theo explains mortgages at one point. There is a slight overuse of the term 'pecking' in relation to keyboards!

Readers will pick up plenty of knowledge about US law and may even be inspired to a legal career. Theo and his family are the characters most explored but I hope that Theo's friend April features more in the next book - as yes there is a sequel, which I'm glad about as there are many questions left unanswered at the end.

NB. This book is being produced in both adult and YA editions.