Joshua Stefhen A. Ola STEM 11-9 St.

Rufus

Book Review English 200

PLOT

Theodore Boone: The Abduction is a novel written by the famous author, John Grisham. It is
part of a series and this particular book explores the abduction of Theodore’s best friend, April.
Theodore is a teenage boy with big ambitions. His parents are lawyers, and he wishes to follow
in their footsteps and become a lawyer too.

When April goes missing, he puts his skills to the test and does everything he possibly can to try
and find out what happened and where she is, after the police struggle.

DESCRIBE THE MAIN CHARACTER

Theodore Boone is a fictional character created by John Grisham, who is the title character in
Grisham’s legal series for children. As of 2019, Boone has appeared in seven books.

Theo is a kind, independent 13-year-old student who resides in the medium-sized city of
Strattenburg, Pennsylvania, with his parents: Woods Boone, a real estate lawyer, and Marcella
Boone, a divorce attorney. Theo dreams of following in their footsteps one day, becoming either
a lawyer or judge. Thanks to his parents’ work, Theo knows a great deal about the law and
knows many police officers and judges in the city. He often helps his classmates solve issues
they are having.

SETTINGS

The setting takes place in the town of Strattenburg. Strattenburg is where April lives and is
where she was taken. April’s abduction took place between 9:15 p.m., when she last spoke to
Theodore Boone, and 3:30 a.m., when her mother entered her bedroom and realized she was
gone.

REVIEW

In this story, Theo’s best friend, April Finnemore, is missing, and it appears that she has been
abducted by an escaped convict. With the help of his Uncle Ike, Theo finds out where April is,
and he and his uncle drive several hours to get her and bring her home.

The trouble is that Theo has to sneak away without his parents’ knowledge. While Theo’s
parents are out of town for the night, he is supposed to be spending the night with his friend
Chase. He and Chase concoct stories to keep their parents in the dark long enough for Theo to
get away. There is a scene where Theo argues with himself about whether it’s right to do
something he knows his parents wouldn’t agree to if they knew.

Fortunately, he does find April and bring her home safely. Unfortunately, everyone is so thrilled
that Theo does avoid trouble. Uncle Ike encouraged Theo to do the wrong thing for the right
reasons, and Theo’s parents apparently get so wrapped up in the aftermath of April’s rescue
that they forget Theo disobeyed. I was disappointed that there were no consequences for his
bad choice.

The atmosphere of this story is darker and more grim than the first, as well. We are told that
April’s parents both have had drug convictions, and her father is an “aging hippie, who still
played in a bad garage band with a bunch of other leftovers from the 1980s. He had no real job
and was often gone for weeks. The Finnemores were in a perpetual state of separation, with
talk of divorce always in the air.” April is vulnerable because she has spent several nights at
home alone, terrified, not knowing where either parent is.

In the search for April, a body is found floating in the river, and everyone thinks for a while that it
is likely April’s body. We’re told that it is so badly decomposed that it can’t be readily identified.

FAVORITE PART OF THE STORY

My favorite part took place at chapter 4; page 33-39. What happens is that while Theo and his
classmates are searching for April, they got interrogated by 2 policemen in no other reason but
to stop them from undergoing a manhunt. The other policeman named Officer Bard accused
them of breaking the law by tacking flyers on public property. In which Theo answered with a
straightforward and intellectual way saying that it was not a violation of the city code and that
the law clearly says that the only flyers that needs permit are those used for politics, therefore
making there “missing” posters legal as long as they are taken down within 10 days.

I really like this part because this is where I realized that Theo is a bright young man, especially
for his age. And he also proved that he actually wants to become a lawyer someday as he puts
immense amount of time into studying laws and being able to actually apply them in real life. I
also like his bravery and the fact that he knows his rights, making him the worst enemy of bad
cops that looks for nothing but trouble.

CONCLUSION

Overall, I think that this is a good but kind of disappointing story; it started as a dark and much
more interesting starting plot. But then it turned into a more childish and easy to understand
approach, which is understandable since it is a children’s book after all. I recommend this book
for those who are trying to find a starter book with genres like crime and suspense.