The Activist
Theodore Boone #4
by John Grisham
read by Richard Thomas


My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fiction

When the powers that be discuss building a bypass around the city of Strattenburg, thirteen-year-old Theodore Boone finds himself in the middle of the politics from both sides of the issue. A friend whose family’s home is threatened by the bypass thinks Theo can somehow help, but Theo knows he’s in over his head. Even his own dad is for the bypass. What’s a kid lawyer to do?

Whew, this book took a lot of turns and kept me invested all throughout. The issue of the bypass, though it could easily be dry and make the plot slow, is handled well by Grisham. Both sides of the issue are represented well, and though Theo does probably pick his side pretty quickly, he recognizes that there’s really nothing a 13-year-old can do. Meanwhile, there’s an unrelated subplot in which Theo’s leadership are questioned during a camping trip with his fellow scouts, and as weird as it might sound, I really appreciated the way Theo handles it (which is not well), because it keeps him from being too mature or even “perfect” for his age. As much as I’ve been enjoying these books, Theo can get a little unrealistic, so his immaturity on the scout trip brings him back to earth a bit. In the end, this book has quite a different feel than the rest of the series, yet it’s just as good. Maybe my favorite, though it’s difficult to pick between this and the previous.

Richard Thomas continues to do a great job with the narration. It’s probably not super important to read the books in order, though I’d recommend it. Overall, I’d say whether or not a teenager or pre-teen will be interested in this book will depend on what kind of fiction they like—if fast-paced action is important, this probably won’t suit them. If they’re interested in realistic fiction about crime and law and trials, this could be fascinating for them.

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