A review by rebeccabooks
Theodore Boone: The Accused by John Grisham
4.0
See full review: http://rebecca-books.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/theodore-boone-accused-john-grisham-3.html
For old followers of the blog, you will know I am quite a big fan in the children's series, Theodore Boone by adult crime writer, John Grisham. I love the mystery, the drama and most of all, the main man, Theodore. He is just so cute and lovely - a topic of many of a friend of mine and I's conversations. Especially with her wanting to be a lawyer too.
So, it's unsurprising as I hovered by this book continuously at work, seeing who would buy it and then after, said friend read it in a couple of days and talked how brilliant it was, I felt it was time for me to get it. And I needed to know what happened next...
Synopsis: Theodore Boone is a thirteen year-old kid lawyer whose already helped provide a major suspect in Strattenburg's biggest murder trial and find his missing best friend. This time, it's Theo's turn to be the victim. After Theo is framed and his bike vandalised, he is accused of a burglary at an expensive computer equipment store with him being the only suspect. It looks like Theo's status and future as a lawyer is at threat so he must find the framer before it's too late.
Review: For any big fans of Theodore Boone out there (if not, you should read it immediately), don't expect the Duffy case from Book 1 to be resolved in this book. I did and entered thinking this was it, done and dusted, end of Theodore.
Well, it isn't. The book opens with the trial starting again and Theo proudly being the only one at his middle school to go to the trial. Grisham gives the impression that this is it and after something happens at the trial, you may think you know exactly what the book is going to be about.
Well it's not. I have a feeling that Grisham is purposefully keeping us waiting to hear the result as the book could be read as a stand alone novel, with few references to Book 1 and practically zero to Book 2. This seems like a sidetrack, a mini adventure for Theo while we all wait to the main story to finalise. In short, I thought this was a trilogy - but it doesn't look like it.
I like this series partly because it's such a light-hearted yet entertaining read. There are points where Grisham makes it clear that that part is memorable, even if it seems that it isn't important for the storyline. This is for a much younger audience that a typical Grisham crime novel but through the young Theo, he gives lessons on life and raises issues that are largely absent from books normally aimed at this audience. The world of the internet for teenagers is explored as well as the internet's use in rumours and bullying - more accurately than other teenage fiction books I have read. There is also the issue of privacy and what is hacking. On the surface, this is merely a mystery novel based around a young teenager with a bicycle, however, looking deeper, it does look at all the problems faced today by teenagers.
There are a few things that I felt seemed a little pointless to include but I may be proved wrong in the next book as I have done before. I was also a tad disappointed compared to the previous books but I think this is because it took me a while to get into it due to lots of things happening. The mystery is still there and the anticipation to find out what will happen but I was still not as excited as I thought I would be to start off with.
This is a must for fans of Theodore Boone and should not be missed. I really love Theo, with his mixture of being a proper teenager, his lawyer antics and his innocence - he is a lovely character to read about. I enjoyed this and am incredibly looking forward to the next book, lets see what John Grisham will throw at Theo next.
I give it a 4 out of 5
For old followers of the blog, you will know I am quite a big fan in the children's series, Theodore Boone by adult crime writer, John Grisham. I love the mystery, the drama and most of all, the main man, Theodore. He is just so cute and lovely - a topic of many of a friend of mine and I's conversations. Especially with her wanting to be a lawyer too.
So, it's unsurprising as I hovered by this book continuously at work, seeing who would buy it and then after, said friend read it in a couple of days and talked how brilliant it was, I felt it was time for me to get it. And I needed to know what happened next...
Synopsis: Theodore Boone is a thirteen year-old kid lawyer whose already helped provide a major suspect in Strattenburg's biggest murder trial and find his missing best friend. This time, it's Theo's turn to be the victim. After Theo is framed and his bike vandalised, he is accused of a burglary at an expensive computer equipment store with him being the only suspect. It looks like Theo's status and future as a lawyer is at threat so he must find the framer before it's too late.
Review: For any big fans of Theodore Boone out there (if not, you should read it immediately), don't expect the Duffy case from Book 1 to be resolved in this book. I did and entered thinking this was it, done and dusted, end of Theodore.
Well, it isn't. The book opens with the trial starting again and Theo proudly being the only one at his middle school to go to the trial. Grisham gives the impression that this is it and after something happens at the trial, you may think you know exactly what the book is going to be about.
Well it's not. I have a feeling that Grisham is purposefully keeping us waiting to hear the result as the book could be read as a stand alone novel, with few references to Book 1 and practically zero to Book 2. This seems like a sidetrack, a mini adventure for Theo while we all wait to the main story to finalise. In short, I thought this was a trilogy - but it doesn't look like it.
I like this series partly because it's such a light-hearted yet entertaining read. There are points where Grisham makes it clear that that part is memorable, even if it seems that it isn't important for the storyline. This is for a much younger audience that a typical Grisham crime novel but through the young Theo, he gives lessons on life and raises issues that are largely absent from books normally aimed at this audience. The world of the internet for teenagers is explored as well as the internet's use in rumours and bullying - more accurately than other teenage fiction books I have read. There is also the issue of privacy and what is hacking. On the surface, this is merely a mystery novel based around a young teenager with a bicycle, however, looking deeper, it does look at all the problems faced today by teenagers.
There are a few things that I felt seemed a little pointless to include but I may be proved wrong in the next book as I have done before. I was also a tad disappointed compared to the previous books but I think this is because it took me a while to get into it due to lots of things happening. The mystery is still there and the anticipation to find out what will happen but I was still not as excited as I thought I would be to start off with.
This is a must for fans of Theodore Boone and should not be missed. I really love Theo, with his mixture of being a proper teenager, his lawyer antics and his innocence - he is a lovely character to read about. I enjoyed this and am incredibly looking forward to the next book, lets see what John Grisham will throw at Theo next.
I give it a 4 out of 5