The Accomplice, by John Grisham, is a realistic fiction novel. It is the seventh book of the Theodore Boone series. John Grisham is a popular author who is most known for writing adult mysteries and legal thrillers. This story takes place in Strattenburg, Pennsylvania, and gives the point of view of two teenagers: Woody Lambert and Theodore “Theo” Boone. Woody Lambert comes from a broken home. Woody’s brother, Tony, is a high school dropout, and Woody is steering onto the same path. His mother is always working one of her two jobs, and his step-father is out of town on business, leaving him and Tony alone together most of the time. One night, Tony decides to bring Woody along with him to deliver some pizzas. As the night goes on and Tony reunites with his friend, Garth, the boys get into some trouble after being arrested for drinking and driving and an armed robbery. Theodore Boone, the son of two of the most successful lawyers in town, takes on the position of freeing the innocent lambert boys from jail. It is Theo’s dream to become a successful lawyer just like his parents. Even as a teenager, Theo works as a lawyer in the Animal Court, never losing a case. Theo uses the help of the close knit community to help bring justice to the Lambert brothers.

“Part of being a good kid was learning to overlook the shortcomings of adults.” (Page

8).

This quote from the book, stated by Theodore Boone, shows how Theo has had to be a good kid his whole life, even when sometimes that wasn’t fair. Because Theo was so young, sometimes he wasn’t taken seriously by some adults. This book does a great job of teaching that your age shouldn't stop you from doing something you are passionate about. Being a kid doesn’t restrain you from being talented and successful at anything, and that is a lesson that Theodore Boone portrays throughout the duration of the book.

There were a few things that I enjoyed about this book. Because there are so many things going on at once, the book seems to be a fast read. It is great to see how so many people from Woody and Theo’s lives work together for a greater cause. However, I think that the conflict was a little bit too simple. Although the book is meant for a younger audience, it feels as though I wasn’t sucked into the book as much as I had been with other mysteries for there was a lot of telling and not much showing. Throughout the book, it feels as though the author tries to lengthen a simple story by adding many unnecessary minor issues that made the book feel a little bit dreary. It feels unreasonable how many privileges Theo gets with the school and the court. Although there was a moral to the story, it was very difficult to discover. The book felt like it lacked depth and was ultimately almost boring. I don’t think that this book suits the targeted age group. Personally, I would not recommend this book to those who enjoy murder mystery because it might be a little bit disappointing. If you are interested in books that get you involved, unfortunately I don’t think this book is for you.

Checkout The Accomplice from the Newport Beach Public Library.