Half the man, twice the lawyer – reads the byline of John Grisham’s latest offering. As a prospective reader, I warn you that Mr. Grisham has targeted the teenagers with his novel. So, while you can expect the same level of legal detail and jargon as in previous Grisham novels such as The Rainmaker, The Associate and The Client, there is also the kid perspective that we have seen him use to good effect in A Painted House.
The quote on his website says it all:
With two attorneys for parents, thirteen-year-old Theodore Boone knows more about the law than most lawyers do. But when a high profile murder trial comes to his small town and Theo gets pulled into it, it’s up to this amateur attorney to save the day
We are introduced to some Tier Two city in America named Strasborough (not sure if this is the exact spelling) where Theo lives with lawyer parents. One of them deals with property issues (father) and the other with domestic issues (mother). They are his idols in the sense that he dreams to grow up to become a liar… Oops, I mean lawyer. Strasborough as we find out is a quiet place, one that makes it to the national headlines only for the wrong reasons. And one reason for it to be on the map is the homicide that has occurred in the town recently.
The man suspected for murdering his wife is a smug rich chap, who has some bad guys to keep him company. The lawyer who is defending him has a penchant for getting people of the hook. The prosecuting lawyer does not have anything major to pin the guy and has what American law calls circumstantial evidence. And like Theo will take pains to explain to you, that will not get you the jury’s verdict in your favour.
Along the way, we are introduced to Theo’s sometime crazy life, his first real “date” with the class hottie, his teaching sessions with some illegal immigrants, his stumbling across crucial evidence that may lead to a conviction for the state… Of course, like other Grisham novels, the reader is never in doubt as to what the final outcome of the book is going to be. However, there is a twist to the tale that was not expected from John.
A good read and if you have teenage children, you might want to introduce them to Theo. Not only because he is an obedient child who consistently gets good grades but because he is passionate about what he wants to do. That is the kind of inspiration that many of today’s youth can do with.
Rating: 3.2 out of 5.
