Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer - Jack

Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer

By: John Grisham

Grisham, John. Theodore Boone, kid lawyer. New York: Dutton Children's Books, 2010. Print.

Theodore Boone is a kid who lives in the small, ordinary town of Strattenburg. Theodore lives an ordinary life; however, he is no ordinary kid. Theodore Boone is obsessed with the idea of being a lawyer; most of all he dreams of being a great trial lawyer, and of a life in the courtroom. Theodore Boone spends more time in the courtrooms than any of the lawyer that work there; he is also good friends with Judge Gantry, Strattenburg’s most prestigious judge. Love for the courtroom seems to run in the Boone family, as both Theodore’s parents are lawyers, as well as Theodore’s uncle Ike. The author explains Theo’s life in the very first paragraph, “Theodore Boone was an only child and for that reason usually had breakfast alone. His father, a busy lawyer, was in the habit of leaving early and meeting friends for coffee and gossip at the same downtown diner every morning at seven. Theo’s mother, herself a busy lawyer, had been trying to lose ten pounds for at least the past ten years, and because of this she’d convinced herself that breakfast should be nothing more than coffee with the newspaper. So he ate by himself at the kitchen table, cold cereal and orange juice, with an eye on the clock. The Boone family had clocks everywhere, clear evidence of organised people.” (Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer; Page 1) As Theo’s life goes on the major courtroom of Strattenburg preparing itself for the start of the biggest murder trial of the century, and Theodore is determined to watch, school or not. The tension starts to rise as the heat in the courtroom reaches boiling point. The court accuses Pete Duffy of murdering his wife, although he maintains his innocence. Theo believes that Duffy is guilty, though he knows there is nothing he can do to keep him from walking, courtroom slang for pleading innocent when in truth guilty. However, Theo’s curiosity may have just dragged him into the centre of the case. This is where it gets complicated, and for the first time in Theo’s few years of being, so does his life. Omar Cheepe, a former FBI agent, now working as a defendant for Mr. Duffy, seems to have taken a queer interest in Theodore; even though the poor boy has done nothing, or has he? “How could it be that he, Theodore Boone, knew that truth about the Duffy murder? Of all the people in Strattenburg, some seventy-five thousand, why him? The town’s biggest crime since something bad happened in the 1950s, and he, Theo, was suddenly in the middle of it.

He had no idea what to do.” (Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer; Page 119) However, how on Earth does a normal kid such as Theo get involved in a sensational murder case? How would you do it? It is anyone’s guess, unless you read the book. The climax of the book comes when a surprise witness appears in the trial. The whole Boone family as well as Judge Gantry are packed into a room with a witness that could change the verdict of the trial:

“But Judge Gantry said nothing. He’d seem the photo a hundred times and was unmoved by it. Booby, though, had never seen it, and he immediately began speaking rapidly to Julio.

“That him,” Julio said, actually pointing, “The man in the cart. That’s him.”

“Let the record show, Your Honour, that the witness has just identified the defendant, Mr. Pete Duffy.”

“Got it, Theo,” Gantry said.” (Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer; Page 255) So does the witness change Mr. Duffy’s verdict? You will never know, unless you read the book.

Throughout the book, the Duffy case always comes under the spotlight, and John Grisham constantly keeps us guessing whether Mr. Duffy is guilty or not. He does this by placing explicit clues in the text, and by allowing the reader to make inferences.  An explicit clue is a clue that the reader reads directly; in this case, the clue proves Mr. Duffy guilty. This clue comes as Julio’s cousin finds two brand new golf glove in the bin, both belonging to Pete Duffy. As Mrs. Duffy died of strangulation, this clue could be vital. “His hands were shaking as he unbuttoned his shirt and pulled out a clear, plastic bag, a Ziploc. He laid it carefully on Theo’s desk as if it were a gift he never wanted to touch again. In it were two objects, white in colour, slightly worn, and wadded.

Golf gloves.

“My cousin gave me this,” he said. “Two golf gloves, worn by the man he saw go into the house where the lady was killed. One for the right hand, one for the left. The right hand is new. The left hand has been used.” (Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer; Page 163) This is an explicit glue, if these gloves were sent to a crime lab; it could uncover the identity of Mrs. Duffy’s murderer. Another type of clue is one that the reader has to infer from the story. This type of clue is more prominent in this book, like when Julio’s cousin confirms that he saw a man walking into the house just before Mrs. Duffy was murdered. This clue makes the reader infer that the person is Mr. Duffy, and adds to the piles of evidence that is now stacking up against him. “…The cousin, still unnamed began to tell his story. He pointed to a spot in some trees in a dogleg on the sixth fairway, and spoke rapidly about what he had seen. He’d been sitting on some timbers near a streambed , just inside the tree line, eating his lunch, minding his own business, when he saw the man enter the house from the rear door and exit a few minute later…” More evidence piles up upon Mr. Duffy.

This book is set in the town of Strattenburg, a small town in the United States. In this particular town, there are lots of illegal immigrants, as well as lawyers. This book takes place right now. It is obvious that it is set in neither the past nor future as Theo’s life can be compared to mine, and many other thirteen-year-old kids. As well as that, no ultra-advanced technology is present in this book.

There are many characters mentioned in this book, and everyone has a part to play. No one in this book does not affect the trial, or Theo’s life. The main character in this book is Theodore Boone. Theodore is a boy of thirteen, and lives a very unordinary life; He cannot participate in sports as he has serious asthma. John Grisham uses many characterisation techniques in this book that make Theo realistic, I think that this small passage sums up Theo, “Most of his classmates dreamed of getting tickets to the big game or concert. Theo Boone lived for big trials.” (Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer; Page 18) In this novel, Grisham uses many characterisation techniques, three of which are dialogue, action, and reaction. Dialogue is used throughout the book as Theo talks to many people, to many of whom he reveals his thoughts and feelings. Action is used throughout the book as well, like when Theo rides his bike to school just like a BMX rider, how? Read the book. Finally, reaction is used especially when Theo speaks to Judge Gantry; Theo will do whatever that man says!

This book has multiple themes. These themes include family, and heroism. This book contains the theme family as the whole Boone family is involved in the case. By the end of the book, the Boones are obviously a closer family now than what they were at the beginning of the book. By the end of the book, Theodore feels as if he has a real family unit; his views on Ike change as well. This book also contains heroism as both Theo and Julio’s cousin step up and perhaps change the course of the trial, and the course of history.

This book matters as it shows us the importance of being well-rounded people. It teaches us not to be people who stare at their telephones, not learning the basic skills of life. Would Theo have been able to get out of half the situations he was in if he had not spend all that time in court? Most kids would just stare blankly at iPads. The ‘so what’ of the book is that families can get through anything, as long as they are together. I enjoy the fast moving plot of the story, I also like the characters; however, the book did not challenge me, so therefore there was no deep thought to be done, I disliked that. This book is important to think and talk about, as it not only teaches us the court system, but how themes like family are important in everyday life. If I were to place myself in the book, I would probably be a friend of Theo. Not wanting to get particularly involved in the case, but always nosy. Over ten, this book would probably receive a seven and a half from me.