by John Grisham
First published 2013
Theo Boone is thirteen years old, lives in Strattenburg, and knows more about the law than most adults. His parents are lawyers. He haunts the local courthouse the way other kids haunt the mall. But when Theo becomes the prime suspect in a theft case, all that legal knowledge gets tested in the most personal way possible. Someone has framed him, and the evidence looks bad. Theo has to keep his head while the pressure mounts at school, at home, and in the halls of the courthouse he loves. He has already helped crack a murder trial and tracked down the truth when his best friend was taken. This time the case is about him. The stakes feel different when you are the one accused. Theo has to find out who set him up before the system he believes in turns against him. John Grisham puts a young kid at the center of a legal fight and makes every courtroom procedure feel urgent and real. Readers who root for Theo will feel every twist.
Genres: fiction, adventure, coming-of-age, mystery, young-adult, legal-thriller
Vibes: empowering, engaging, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-detective, coming-of-age, found-family, wrongly-accused
Setting: Strattenburg, courthouse
Period: contemporary
271 pages · Paperback · Puffin Books