THEODORE BOONE: The Accused

John Grisham's YA Novel Series

by Kay King

I can usually always count on enjoying a John Grisham novel, and his young adult series involving a thirteen-year-old middle school student named Theodore Boone have so far been thoroughly enjoyable.

Theodore Boone (Theo) is the child of two lawyers, and he therefore knows a great deal about lawyers, judges, courthouse procedure and the law. The first two novels involving Theo concerned a murder in which Theo discovers an eyewitness who also happens to be an illegal alien. The second involves the disappearance of a good friend and classmate of Theo’s, and Theo happens to have the specialized knowledge needed to find her. The more entertaining aspects of these novels occur when an adult consults Theo about a legal problem, because they know he’s likely to have an answer for them that won’t involve anyone else (in the adult world) finding out about the problem.

In the third novel, Theo is all set to attend the murder trial of the man he helped build the case against in the first novel, but the man does a disappearing act. The small town he lives in is abuzz with nothing else, when all of a sudden Theo becomes a target. A local electronics store is robbed and some of the contraband is found in Theo’s locker, and someone is pitching rocks through Theo’s windows and poking holes in his bicycle tires.

It isn’t long until word gets around that Theo Boone, kid lawyer, is in trouble with the law himself and might just be a thief on top of that. Theo and his motley crew of friends must band together and discover who hates Theo enough to frame him like this.

If you have teens who might be interested in law, or if you enjoy legal thrillers in general, then you might enjoy the Theodore Boone series, and definitely the current book,  Theodore Boone: The Accused.