Book Review: Theodore Boone, The Abduction (kid lawyer, kidnapping, dog)

Theodore Boone, The Abduction, by John Grisham (Puffin, 2011, 217 pages, $8.99 paperback, ages 8+, grades 3+)

Kid Lawyer with a Dog

Here at DogEvals, we have been busy, busy, busy, way too busy, reading non-dog books for some prestigious literary awards – so many books (and most of questionable quality) that this blog has suffered (the next excuse will be a spring semester course in creative writing but I’ll save that one for later!).

But now we are back and so happy to read about dogs again that we started with a quick, easy one: Theodore Boone, The Abduction.

Previously DogEvals reviewed the first Theodore Boone book in the series, Kid Lawyer here and we were lucky enough to find several more in the series (so, stay tuned for the rest!) This is the second.

The Pacing

A book primarily for pre-teen boys (and girls), The Abduction starts out slowly as do many of the pre-teen books we read. Each chapter ends with a slight cliff-hanger to keep the interest of the young reader perhaps, but, towards the end, the action picks up rapidly and the denouement is complex enough to tie up all the loose ends.

Theo is a typical 8^th grader and it’s fun to remember what middle school was like (or junior high) and debate club and living with parents. He is a good kid and you will like him fretting about possibly getting into trouble and biking to school and even texting his mother when asked. He vacillates between wanting to become a world-famous lawyer or a world-famous judge. The reader may want to do the same after reading this series, may want to go into law, with all the new knowledge absorbed from Theo.

Speaking of parents, The Abduction has two sets on opposite ends of the spectrum – one set who separate on occasion and are of the hippie persuasion (a musician of sorts and a cheese-maker) and the other set who are both tied to schedules so much that every Monday night is Chinese food night and Tuesday is pizza, etc. But we love them because they love Theo and the feeling is mutual! And the whole town knows and loves Theo, making this a warm reading reminiscent of “Father Knows Best” or The Bobsey Twins or Nancy Drew.

Judge, the Dog

In each book we learn a little more about Theo’s dog, Judge, a mutt who goes to work every day with Theo’s parents, both lawyers, and is content to snooze, sometimes creeping quietly from room to room in the law offices, hoping for a handout. At home, the Judge slept under Theo’s bed.

The Judge came home to live with Theo after a case in ‘Kitty Court,’ also known as animal court.

In Kid Lawyer, Judge hardly makes an appearance and so goes the first half of The Abduction. Theo manages to take Judge in the car as they go to hunt for his best friend, April, several hours and a couple of states away (it appears the book is set in Pennsylvania by the sound of Theo’s hometown of Strattenburg, a mention of DC (the District of Columbia) and a midnight drive through Virginia to a university in North Carolina to find an aging hippie band. Of course, our hero, 13-year-old Theo, takes along his disbarred and unique uncle Ike as the driver.

Kids Thrive on Conservation

This series reminds us of Saturday matinees from the 20s and 30s (so I’m told) starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland or comics with Archie and Veronica and Betty and Ronnie and Jughead. And because the set of seven Theo books could have been one long long book of short stories but isn’t, author James Patterson uses some of the same introductory paragraphs in each book – just in case there is a lengthy period of time between reading them all or in case you start in the middle of the series. The reader will recognize his repeated setting-the-stage and feel comfortable*. Or not.

The Plot

April disappears in the middle of the night. Theo was the last one she talked to (on the phone). The entire town searches for her for days and even drag the river , yielding a body – not hers. An escaped convict is apprehended and spins a story. And there is more: African Grey Parrot Pete also makes an appearance. Have you ever read a mystery book for kids with an African Grey Parrot in it? Here’s your chance!

Next on our list to read: Theodore Boone, The Accused (the first six seem to be in alphabetical order)

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Caveat: This book was purchased for review.

*A Kid Lawyer

Theodore Boone is an All-American 13-year-old boy who rides his bike to school in a small town and is experiencing growing up pains.

Theo is the only child of two lawyers (a divorce lawyer who stays in his office, and one who is super-organized but only cooks twice a year) and the nephew of a disbarred hippie lawyer. Theo is smart and well-liked, in the Debate Club (but not athletic), and is also the only eighth grader in town with his own ‘law office.’

But Theo is not your average 13-year-old boy: half a dozen kids and grown-ups come to him for personal legal advice, including a potential witness to a murder. And then there are the requisite shady characters plus the smell and look and sounds of a courtroom where our hero, Theo, hopes to preside one day as a wise judge.