Although the book progresses mostly on a lighter note, “Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer” focuses the spotlight on many taboo subjects for young adult novels. With central topics like feminism, racism, illegal immigration, political outbreaks, drug abuse, and child abuse, John Grisham manages to effectively prod at touchy subjects with so much subtlety within each subplot, that even with lots of murder, smoking, and court cases scattered throughout the plot, through the eyes of thirteen-year-old Theodore Boone, “Kid Lawyer” is surprisingly appropriate. And with all of these dark themes, it comes as no surprise that there is indeed a lot to learn in this book. Each subplot takes the reader into a new and unexplored road, and although a suspenseful cliffhanger is presented towards the end of the book, the author still manages to quietly tie all of these themes up. This results in the reader feeling like they’ve actually read a complete book instead of a book with several different subplots, although that is precisely how it feels while reading it. John Grisham’s “Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer” is many different things. Sometimes it’s a fight for justice, sometimes it’s a heart-wrenching story of family situation infused with drug and child abuse, sometimes it’s a guidebook on the court’s rules, and sometimes it’s about a murder-witnessing illegal immigrant’s unwillingness to provide the town with justice for fear of getting caught in the middle.

Although the book progresses mostly on a lighter note, “Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer” focuses the spotlight on many taboo subjects for young adult novels. With central topics like feminism, racism, illegal immigration, political outbreaks, drug abuse, and child abuse, John Grisham manages to effectively prod at touchy subjects with so much subtlety within each subplot, that even with lots of murder, smoking, and court cases scattered throughout the plot, through the eyes of thirteen-year-old Theodore Boone, “Kid Lawyer” is surprisingly appropriate. And with all of these dark themes, it comes as no surprise that there is indeed a lot to learn in this book. Each subplot takes the reader into a new and unexplored road, and although a suspenseful cliffhanger is presented towards the end of the book, the author still manages to quietly tie all of these themes up. This results in the reader feeling like they’ve actually read a complete book instead of a book with several different subplots, although that is precisely how it feels while reading it. John Grisham’s “Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer” is many different things. Sometimes it’s a fight for justice, sometimes it’s a heart-wrenching story of family situation infused with drug and child abuse, sometimes it’s a guidebook on the court’s rules, and sometimes it’s about a murder-witnessing illegal immigrant’s unwillingness to provide the town with justice for fear of getting caught in the middle.

Although the book progresses mostly on a lighter note, “Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer” focuses the spotlight on many taboo subjects for young adult novels. With central topics like feminism, racism, illegal immigration, political outbreaks, drug abuse, and child abuse, John Grisham manages to effectively prod at touchy subjects with so much subtlety within each subplot, that even with lots of murder, smoking, and court cases scattered throughout the plot, through the eyes of thirteen-year-old Theodore Boone, “Kid Lawyer” is surprisingly appropriate. And with all of these dark themes, it comes as no surprise that there is indeed a lot to learn in this book. Each subplot takes the reader into a new and unexplored road, and although a suspenseful cliffhanger is presented towards the end of the book, the author still manages to quietly tie all of these themes up. This results in the reader feeling like they’ve actually read a complete book instead of a book with several different subplots, although that is precisely how it feels while reading it. John Grisham’s “Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer” is many different things. Sometimes it’s a fight for justice, sometimes it’s a heart-wrenching story of family situation infused with drug and child abuse, sometimes it’s a guidebook on the court’s rules, and sometimes it’s about a murder-witnessing illegal immigrant’s unwillingness to provide the town with justice for fear of getting caught in the middle.