Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer is a 2010 middle-grade novel written by John Grisham, and it is the first installment in the Theodore Boone series. Grisham is an experienced layer and writer of over 30 novels, with most of his writing in the legal thriller genre. Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer is Grisham’s first foray into writing for a younger audience, which the author called a challenge in shifting the way he thought about his writing approach. In the novel, Theodore “Theo” Boone is a 13-year-old budding lawyer who has learned much from his parents’ legal practice. His lessons as a future lawyer continues as he discovers that he must rely on his family to help him handle his most difficult case yet, in which he unexpectedly holds the key to his town’s first murder trial in years.

This guide refers to the 2010 edition printed by Dutton’s Children’s Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Plot Summary

The novel begins the day before trial of Peter Duffy, who is accused of killing his wife for her life insurance policy. Theo goes down to the courthouse, where the 13-year-old is already a regular, to secure courtroom seats for his Government class for their field trip to watch the trial’s opening statements the next day. Judge Henry Gantry, who is presiding over the case, grants Theo’s request. Theo then goes to school and offers some background to the case so that his class is aware of what’s happening. His teacher, Mr. Mount, thinks of Theo as the class’s lawyer in the way that he explains legal proceedings and terminology for the class.

After school, Theo goes to his parents’ law office, Boone & Boone, which is where he spends most of his evenings. There, he greets his father and excitedly talks about the trial, though Woods Boone has already spoken with Judge Gantry to ensure that Theo doesn’t skip school after his field trip to watch the rest of the trial. He also speaks with his mother Marcella, who is a divorce attorney, who emphasizes that his education should come first, despite Theo’s desire to spend all day at the courthouse. He finally retires to his office to start his homework when one of his many “clients” comes in—a classmate named Sandy who needs advice on how to help his parents avoid foreclosure. Theo sees several such “cases” throughout the novel, enjoying the sense of satisfaction he gets in helping people.

On Tuesday, Theo is thrilled to see the start of the trial and is determined to view the defendant as innocent until proven guilty, but he can’t shake the sense that he is the killer. It seems unlikely that the prosecution will be able to prove it. That night, when Theo and his parents volunteer at the local soup kitchen, Theo runs into Julio, a kid from the school whose siblings Theo tutors in English. The next day, Julio tells Theo that his cousin saw Peter Duffy leave the golf course at the time of his wife’s murder and return through the woods, essentially providing an unknown witness. Theo talks to the cousin, but he is sworn to secrecy and doesn’t even know the cousin’s name.

Theo knows that this information is crucial to the Duffy trial going on and believes that, if the cousin testifies, Pete Duffy would be convicted. However, the cousin is also an undocumented immigrant, so coming forward risks his deportation. Theo decides to involve his uncle Ike, a former lawyer who mysteriously lost his license to practice before Theo was born. Ike agrees to help.

When Julio gives Theo Peter Duffy’s golf gloves from the day of the murder that his cousin picked out of the trash, Theo becomes even more anxious, and he and Ike eventually agree to bring in Theo’s parents. Woods and Marcella then help Theo come to the realization that Judge Gantry needs to be made aware of everything going on, though they affirm that Theo should continue to keep the new witness’s identity a secret.

For Julio’s cousin to testify, Judge Gantry would need to declare a mistrial, essentially restarting the legal proceedings. When the Boones speak to him on Friday, he is at first reticent to do so, believing that his hands are tied because the witness refuses to come forward. However, the Boones convince him to recess for the weekend and resume on Monday so that they can try to figure out a solution.

The next morning, Woods and Theo go out to the golf course where Pete Duffy was supposedly playing and where Julio’s cousin works. They check out the possibility that Duffy could have left the course and returned after murdering his wife. Finding it to be plausible, Theo contacts Julio and his cousin again, and the Boones offer to find a secure place for Julio and his family to live and to sponsor the cousin for citizenship. Theo also learns that the cousin’s name is Bobby Escobar. He is still reticent but agrees to go over the Boones’ house and stay the night with them to hear them out.

Judge Gantry also stops by the offices of Boone & Boone, and after they discuss what Woods and Theo found at the golf course, the judge agrees to hear from the witness, promising not to have him arrested even though he is undocumented.

On Monday, the trial resumes, and Judge Gantry declares a mistrial. A new trial for Duffy will be declared later. Theo then goes to school, resuming his everyday life.