Best Seller Books: Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer Review

I was happy to learn that best-selling author John Grisham was entering the youth market with Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer, the first of a planned series. I read and enjoyed a few of his earlier books some years back and knew he was capable of telling a compelling story. Because I think children and young adults deserve great storytelling (how else will we instill a love of reading in them?), I was looking forward to Grisham's contribution.

Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. Not only was it not great, it wasn't even particularly good.

Thirteen year old Theodore Boone wants to be a lawyer - or perhaps a judge - he hasn't quite decided yet. He loves to hang out at the courthouse and sit in on trials whenever he can. He knows most of the legal types about town - judges, clerks, bailiffs, etc. and they all know him by name. At school, classmates approach him with their troubles and he gives them legal advice. When one of those classmates takes Theo aside and tells him that his cousin may be an important witness to a murder currently being tried before Theo's friend, Judge Gantry, Theo finds himself involved.

It's a good premise. But Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer stumbles as soon as it steps up to the plate. For the first 60 pages of the 260 page novel, Theo plods from place to place having (mostly) meaningless and (mostly) uninteresting conversations with (mostly) unimportant-to-the-plot characters. It's an awkward beginning to what I had believed would be a legal thriller, kid style.

And while the pace did pick up a bit around that 60 page mark when we began to learn details of the murder, the expected thrills never materialized. Instead it was one conversation after another that moved the plot forward to the completely predictable (and vaguely unsatisfying) conclusion. Along the way, there was no mystery, very little action or suspense and almost no humor whatsoever to punch the story up and keep us turning the pages.

To top it off, I didn't find Theo a particularly engaging character. He's nice enough, but because he comes across as rather unrealistically perfect, it's tough to warm up to him. There were a number of instances as well where I felt his thoughts and observations of others held tones of condescension - not an attractive trait, especially in a young teen.

My rating is 2.5 stars. For me, Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer hovered someplace between "It was okay" and "I didn't like it". Normally I round up because I want to give the author the benefit of the doubt. But this is John Grisham, for pete's sake. He should have hit it out of the park. Instead, he bunted.

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Product Description:
A perfect murder
A faceless witness
A lone courtroom champion knows the whole truth . . . and he's only thirteen years old
Meet Theodore Boone

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.

Brimming with the intrigue and suspense that made John Grisham a #1 international bestseller and the undisputed master of the legal thriller, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer will keep readers guessing and pages turning.

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