Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, by John Grisham

Theodore Boone is a kid on a mission. As the child of two lawyers, he knows a thing or two about the judicial system and has a rotating door of customers ranging from peers to teachers asking him for legal advice. Of course, he is more than willing to lend a helping hand and gets the chance of a lifetime to make a real dent in a case when a local man, Pete Duffy, is on trial for the murder of his wife.

Theo arranges for his government class to take a school trip to the first day of the the trial and has no problem bringing the class up to date on what to expect from a trial in general and with this particular case. After some handy work he weasels his way out of school a few times to catch some more of the trial, but he becomes much closer to the happenings of the case when a friend contacts him about a family member that is certain they witnessed Pete leaving the scene of the crime, his house, at the time of the murder.

The only problem is that Bobby, an employee of the golf course where Pete was supposedly golfing at the time of the murder, is an illegal citizen. Therefore, he is wary of coming forward out of fear that he will be deported. Theo is not deterred by this minor setback, however, and manages to work his magic to allow Bobby to tell his story without losing his way of life.

This is Grisham's first stab at teen fiction and, unsurprisingly, he has handed us another riveting legal tale that will hook another generation into devouring his literature for decades to come. Not only is this a fast paced story with characters that are easy to identify with, but the basics of the court system are laid out in a manner that is easy to understand for kids that have never been exposed to the setup and a good refresher for those that haven't had the legal system cross their minds in a while.