My Opinion

My Opinion:

           This book was by far the best book in the Theodore Boone series. It was not my favorite book of all time, but it's definitely in my top ten. John Grisham is a great author. One of the reasons I like him so much is all of the details he includes in his books. You could literally picture yourself along with the characters. Not only was there a great amount of imagery in this book, but a decent amount of characterization as well.                                                                           Another reason this book was so good is because there never was a dull moment. In between the tests and the trial, were other events. For example, while the reader waited for the investigation to finish, Ike, Theo's Uncle, got arrested. John Grisham used events like this as a filler, so the story wouldn't be boring. These events added variety and more action into the story. 

           I would give this book 5/5 stars and highly recommend it to anyone who likes thriller or mystery books. It is the sixth book in the series so I recommend reading the other ones first. Even though I recommend it, it isn't that important to read them in order, so don't stress about it too much.

Setting

  

Summary:

             It is the worst time of the year for the students in the Strattenburg School District, especially Theodore Boone. The schools, divided into East Middle, West Middle, and Strattenburg Middle, are at the time of year when they have to take the statewide standardized tests. East Middle School has always had the lowest scores of the three. The tests decide if Theo will be placed in Honors classes in high school. Theo doesn't think the tests are that big of a deal while April, Theo's best friend, claims she has to have them to get a good art class. They go to school and take the first day of testing. The week goes on with more test everyday. Finally, the testing is over and the students can enjoy the weekend. The test results are revealed when the students return to school on Monday. Theo and April both missed Honors by one point. April is heartbroken. Later in the week, April meets Theo at Guff's Frozen Yogurt to tell him a big secret. April's babysitter told April that her sister, a teacher at East Middle School, was at school after hours with another group of teachers after the test. This made both Theo and April suspicious that the teachers may have changed answers to help raise East Middle's scores. The next day, April writes an anonymous letter to the School Board Explaining their concerns.  After a few days, the School Board starts to investigate the scandal. One by one the School Board investigates the teachers, trying to find as much information as possible. The Board noticed that each "student" had erased more answers than normal. If the scores were changed, this could change everyone's test scores. After the teachers refused to take a lie detector test, the police arrested them and charged them with conspiracy. The teachers were fired as well. Marcella Boone was asked to be the teacher's attorney. When she found out they had been arrested, she rushed to the courthouse and demaded that the charges be dropped. Judge Gantry said he would not drop the charges, but he would release the teachers from jail. Judge Gantry announced that the teacher's trial would be held next week. Theo wasn't allowed to go to the trial at first, but after getting a note signed by Judge Gantry himself; he was allowed to go. The teacher's defense during the trial was that they changed answers because they felt sorry for the students. The teachers said that the students at East Middle have tough home lives, and many of the students come from poorer families. They admitted that it was wrong, but claimed the students at East Middle didn't have equal learning abilities as other students when it came to the standardized test. After the witnesses spoke, and the prosecutors had their say in the trial, Judge Gantry came to a decision. The teachers are innocent, but are suspended from teaching for a year. After the trial, the School Board decided to not take the standardized test anymore. This made everyone happy. The teachers involved in the scandal and everyone that worked at the Boone & Boone Law Firm had a party in the conference room.

Characters

Characters:

 Theodore Boone - Theodore Boone, or Theo for short, is the protagonist in the story. He is literally a kid lawyer, knowing everyone and everything about the law. He is an eighth grader at Strattenburg middle school. His personal traits are compassion and kindness. Being a "lawyer" he feels like justice is important, and will do his best to help anyone. He is a very sociable character. Theo has medium-length brown hair and wears braces.

 April Finnemore - April  Finnemore is another major character in the story. She is an eighth grader at Strattenburg middle school. Unlike Theo, she is very shy and doesn't have many friends besides him. April's parents are never home and don't seem to care about her, making her very independent. She has really short brown hair and has a strong passion for painting.

 Marcella Boone - Marcella Boone is Theo's mother and Woods Boone's wife. She works as a divorce lawyer at the Boone & Boone Law Firm. No matter how important a meeting is, she is going to dress up. She cares about her appearance way more than anyone else in the book, and always has her hair tied back in a ponytail or bun. Not only is she very vain, but she has to be organized. Her office is perfectly organized with nothing out of place.

 Woods Boone - Woods Boone is Theo's dad and Marcella Boone's wife. He works as a real estate lawyer at the Boone & Boone Law Firm. He is the complete opposite of Marcella. His desk is always cluttered with papers and files. It is a surprise he is able to do his job considering how unorganized his office is. He wears thin, wire-framed glasses and has thick, graying hair. Woods is strict on Theo when it comes to school.

 Judge Gantry - Judge Gantry is the criminal judge at the Strattenburg City Courthouse. He takes great pride in being a judge and is well respected among the community. He is good friends with the Boone family, especially Theo. He is an honest judge, doing his best to serve criminals justice. He practically lives in court which means he has to wear his black judge robe most of the time. He has thick black hair and a white smile.

 

Setting

Setting:

        The setting takes place in a small town called Strattenburg. The author, John Grisham, does not reveal much about the "real location" of Strattenburg on a map. We do know that Strattenburg is an average size town with a population of about 80,000. Like most cities, Strattenburg has two parts of town, the richer side and the slums (poorer side). The story mainly takes place in three locations inside of Strattenburg, the courthouse, Strattenburg Middle School, and the Boone & Boone Law Firm. I would consider these to be located in the better part of town. All three of these locations are important to the story's plot and development. There are a few minor settings but they do not have an affect on the story as much as the ones I have listed above. The book is described adequately and you can picture yourself there along with the characters.