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| Categories | Action & Adventure |
| Author | John Grisham |
| Publisher | Puffin Books; Reprint edition (April 22, 2014) |
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 289 pages |
| Item Weight | 8 ounces |
| Dimensions |
7.6 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches |
I. Book introduction
Theodore Boone: The Activist is the fourth book in the Theodore Boone series written by John Grisham. It went on sale on May 21, 2013.
Theodore Boone is back in action! As all of Strattenburg sits divided over a hot political and environmental issue, Theo finds himself right in the thick of it. The county commission is fighting hard to change the landscape of the town, and Theo is strongly opposed to the plans. But when he uncovers corruption beneath the surface, no one—not even Theo—is prepared for the risks—and potential harm—at stake. Torn between his conscience and the law, Theo will do whatever it takes to stand up for what is right.
Editorial Reviews
- “Not since Nancy Drew has a nosy, crime-obsessed kid been so hard to resist.” –The New York Times
- “Classic Grisham.” –The Los Angeles Times
- “Smartly written.” — USA Today
- “Grisham is an absolute master.”–Washington Post
- “Edge-of-your-seat drama, sophisticated plotting, and plenty of spunk.”–Chicago Sun-Times
- “Gripping . . . I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery.”–Scholastic News
About John Grisham
John Grisham (born February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is an American novelist, lawyer and former member of the 7th district of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his popular legal thrillers. According to the American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written 28 consecutive number-one fiction bestsellers, and his books have sold 300 million copies worldwide. Along with Tom Clancy and J. K. Rowling, Grisham is one of only three authors to have sold two million copies on a first printing.
Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University and earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981. He practised criminal law for about a decade and served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1983 to 1990.
Grisham’s first novel, A Time to Kill, was published in June 1989, four years after he began writing it. Grisham’s first bestseller, The Firm, sold more than seven million copies. The book was adapted into a 1993 feature film of the same name, starring Tom Cruise, and a 2012 TV series which continues the story ten years after the events of the film and novel. Seven of his other novels have also been adapted into films:
- The Chamber,
- The Client,
- A Painted House,
- The Pelican Brief,
- The Rainmaker,
- The Runaway Jury, and Skipping Christmas.
Grisham is a two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was honored with the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction.
When he’s not writing, Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and of Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. Much of his fiction explores deep-seated problems in our criminal justice system.
John Girsham lives on a farm in central Virginia.
II. Reviewer Theodore Boone: The Activist
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1. BING C.DIONIDA reviews for Theodore Boone: The Activist
Reading helps to stave off Alzheimers???
I’m not the type to give away books. Really. You can review it over and over but seriously. You can never tell how much you like a writer…no matter what the story is.
If you like John Grisham…then you’ll like this book. In fact, it will help convert a younger reader who likes to read…into reading more complicated John Grisham Novels.
My mom and I always talk about people with Dementia or Alzheimers. We’ve come to the conclusion that Reading will Help. Seriously. If you read and you think about scenery. Colors of hair, the car, the building. The texture. using words that make your mind REACT or THINK. It will help stave off the horrible suffering of Dementia or Alzheimers. If it doesn’t….well, i just can’t believe that reading doesn’t help.
I got my mom to try reading this…she’s not big into books. She liked magazines, especially tabloids. This got her excited. It got her to read another Theodore Boone book then another. Then she wanted to read a more adult John Grisham book. Well, what can I say? Its good to see my mom reading my books.
Share your books with your friends and family. Teach them to read. Their health may be at stake.
2. ZACH P reviews for Theodore Boone: The Activist
Theodore Boone is a series written by John Grisham. The series is one of my favorites to read. The books are about Theodore Boone, a kid lawyer who fights crime in the city of Strattenburg. Although he is only 13 he has been involved in a murder trial, an abduction and more. In this book, the city has proposed a plan to build a bypass to reduce traffic on a busy street. Although it may sound like a good idea, there are many negative effects. The family of one of Theo’s best friends lives on a farm that has been in the family for generations but is in the path of the proposed bypass. The state will take it away from them using eminent domain. The family is heartbroken and comes to Theo for help. There is not much he can do, until he hears about the slimy people behind the building of the bypass.
This book is my favorite out of the series. One of the best things about it was that it was a fast read and impossible to put down. The story had a lot of action, surprises and interesting twists. John Grisham also does a great job with the vivid details, and makes the dilemma feel like it is happening in front of you. I love mysteries and this was a good one. I highly recommend this book.
3. PATRICK reviews for Theodore Boone: The Activist
—–Spoiler Alert—–Four down, two to go. The boy-wonder saves the day (or in this case, the town) once again. Theo is quite amazing in an eighth grader kind of way. “We start out with Theodore Boone, a star student winning another debate contest. Everybody is proud of him. A few days later, Theo goes on a boy scout camping trip. Every thing goes well until the troublemaker of the group, Percy, somehow gets bitten by a copperhead snake. This puts the whole troop in chaos and Theo is suspended as patrol leader.
Theo is unhappy for a few days until his friend Hardie talks to him about an issue for a bypass. The government wants to take Hardie’s land for the bypass using Eminent Domain but Hardie’s family doesn’t want this to happen. Then, a few days later, when Hardie, Theo, his dog Judge, and some friends are at Hardie’s house, they get into a fight with people making the bypass. As Judge tries to protect Theo, he gets hit several times by a wooden pole and is taken to the vet. He is in a critical condition and near death. Theo stays with him day and night and Judge survives.
The thugs are taken to court and are found guilty and put in jail. Theo now devotes his full attention to opposing the bypass. He and his friends go all around town to find bad effects of the bypass. Many of Theo’s scout friends join his team. Then Theo and his team make a video with all the bad effects and it becomes a big success. On the day that the commissioners will decide whether the bypass will be built or not, Theo makes a big speech in front of many people and two commissioners vote for the bypass, two vote against it, an one abstains from voting so the bypass is not built. Theo and his friends are very happy.”
4. JONATHAN reviews for Theodore Boone: The Activist
Page turning novel; A great addition to the series
First and foremost, I am a teenager who has read every book of this series.
I’ve been keeping an eye on the release date of this book for a couple months after getting my hands on the third installment of this series. Amazon was really quick and arrived on the day it was released (preordered).
Overall, I did like the novel, giving it a sold B+. It included some modern topics that are currently being debated. It doesn’t follow the previous installments where Theo Boone focuses on Pete Duffy and the murder case; it was very refreshing and showed Theo’s continued strength to fight for what he thinks is right.
The book includes politics (it will become very obvious), environmental issues, and the shady business Mr.Boone does. It does get a little bit bloody halfway through, but I felt the ending was a bit rushed and wished the ending could be a bit better. I was surprised Theo knew what “eminent domain” is, but has no idea where tax dollars go, basic economy, or what an “activist” is. Simply put, it’s glaringly unrealistic.
The book is pretty good. I cannot wait for the fifth installment.
5. DAVID ROBERTS reviews for Theodore Boone: The Activist
I am reviewing the novel Theodore Boone: The Activist by John Grisham which is an excellent book which I bought from a local supermarket. I think this novel is aimed at teenagers but is still pretty good and relevant to older people. It’s part of the Theodore Boone series and this is the 4th installment and these books have been quite successful regularly getting to the number 1 spot on the book charts. Grisham normally does legal thrillers and these books about a youngster whose parents are both prominent lawyers & Theodore himself advises people on the law and is a bit of a detective who solves cases. I haven’t read the other 3 books but judging by this book they’re probably pretty good. The plot is there is due to be a bypass built around Theodore’s town which is still at the planning stage & his dad is responsible for getting the application through. His mum is opposed to it. One argument is that it will stifling development in the town & another is they will lose valuable rural land which is likely to be developed as a result. Someone who is drunk at the time tells Theodore that people are buying nearby land cheaply in the hope they can develop it as shopping centres etc after the bypass has been built and he looks at his dad’s files and finds out that is accurate. According to the law he shouldn’t have looked at his dad’s files so he can’t tell anyone what he read and has a bit of a dilemma. Naturally there is a happy ending and it makes a good story. A final point the book makes is when the local government is cash strapped and making cuts to services is it right that they make further cuts to justify building a bypass which in this book is $200 million.
6. SUSAN reviews for Theodore Boone: The Activist
Book #4 picks up a month after book #3 ends (The Accused), opening with Theo’s 8th grade debate team — he’s the captain and the star, of course — in a contest against “…Central, the ‘other’ school in town and the great rival of Strattenburg Middle School” (p.3).
This is another thoroughly enjoyable read.
The “activist” part comes in first when Theo takes up the cause of his music teacher who is suddenly let go. It comes in second when a friend of Theo’s wants him to get involved in protesting a controversial bypass construction project that will take the friend’s family farm and go right past an elementary school and heavily used soccer fields.
The legal concept covered heavily in book #4 is that of eminent domain. I haven’t mentioned this before, but each book teaches readers about some point of law.
In all these books, I love Theo’s interior monologues. He imagines himself saying such clever things to his adversaries but always stops himself before he says them aloud…and he’s better off for his lack of follow through…whether he’s talking to his parents or someone else. What a super talking point for those reading these novel along with those ages 8 and up.
7. OLIVER reviews for Theodore Boone: The Activist
It’s a normal day in Strattenburg, almost. Pete Duffy is still missing, but there are other, more important, matters right now. One of those being the Red Creek Bypass, a four-lane highway that is planned to plow right through the pristine countryside, past a school, and through a soccer complex. One of Theo’s friends from boy scouts, Hardie Quinn, is the grandson of one of the homeowners of the land that could be seized by the state for the bypass. He asks for Theo’s advice on the matter, and he really tries to stay out of it. But, we know how good Theo is at this, right?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and found once again that the law content that was written was not at all incomprehensible. Grisham’s narration style does a great job of allowing the reader to picture the scene in their head. I found that it addresses issues such as the research of diesel and other fumes created by fuels and their effects on humans and the environment. I would choose to side with Theo on the matter, against the bypass, because it threatens the safety of all the children and soccer fans in the area. I will definitely continue to read this series, as well as recommend it.
8. BEN TRUONG reviews for Theodore Boone: The Activist
The Activist is the fourth book in the Theodore Boone series written by John Grisham. It stars Theodore Boone, a budding lawyer, who is still in the eighth grade.
Hardi Quinn, one of Theodore Boone’s schoolmates seeks advice when his family farm is threatened by a proposed highway bypass. When the boys start to investigate, it turns out the project is a boondoggle, secretly benefitting a few but with disastrous consequences for the surrounding community which includes the Quinn family farm, an elementary school, and a soccer complex.
As he starts to investigate the highway project, Boone has run-ins with some shady characters. As in the rest of the series, Theodore combines the talents of his friends along with his own legal prowess to fight for what is right and defeat the crooked developers as well as the city council and the governor.
The Activist is written rather well. Grisham continues to weaves the law into a narrative that is quickly paced and flows wonderfully well. While the narrative is focused on – the characters suffer a tad and some feels a tad two-dimensional. Theodore Boone knowledge of the law still helps him, but he must also rely on friends and about kids fighting for what they believe in.
All in all, The Activist is written rather well and is a good continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series, which I plan to continue in the very near future.
9. FELICITY reviews for Theodore Boone: The Activist
It was a really good book it was a good plot line. The general idea is that the governor wants a bypass to go around the town Theo lives in but if they succeed it could be dangers (pollution wise) for a nearby elementary school a soccer complex and at least 50 people’s property will be taken away from them using eminent domain. Truckers and business men are all for the bypass but environment lists know the dangers. It seems like the commissioners are going to vote yes but when some people getting a head start on the job badly hurt Theo’s dog Judge Theo starts to get involved. He rallys up all of these kids from the elementary school and soccer players and together they make a video about all of the dangers the bypass would bring and it goes viral. He has two friends who help him along the way and together they try to convince the 5 commissioners that the bypass is “A Bypass to Nowhere”. And don’t forget that the county and the states have been having to make cuts right and left because there isn’t enough money but there is enough money to make a 2 million dollar bypass?!!!! I like this book because it shows that kids can make a difference and have their voice heard. I also felt so sad at the part where Judge gets hurt the author did an amazing job with this book.
10. ELLA P reviews for Theodore Boone: The Activist
The Book I read was Theodore Boone The Activist by John Grisham. Theo is the only child to Mr. and Mrs. Boone, also know as the Boone and Boone layers. His parents are in the layer business so Theo knows his stuff pretty well. This book is about Theo and his friends fighting and unnecessary, in their opinion, bypass that the government wants to build on top of lots of homes and right next to a school along with a huge soccer complex with multiple fields.
When Theo’s friend Hardie reached out to him about the bypass ruining Hardie’s family farm, Theo knows he has to do something. The bypass would ruin Hardie Quinn’s grandparent farm and all the fun memories that the Quinn family has had there. So Theo along with his dog, Hardie, many close friends, and a wide group of soccer parents set off to fight against the bypass. The only problem was that Theo and his friends could not vote or tell a representative what to do. So they had to show them. But after an unfortunate mishap with some workers for the bypass and Theo’s dog, Theo is determined to stop the bypass in anyway possible. One way included Theo being on the front page of the newspaper calling people who worked for the bypass “thugs”. Another attempt by Theo and his friend was to make a video, but did the video go down well?
I really liked this book, I liked this book for many reasons. One reason was that even though I am not to interested in layer things and I don’t know much about it, the book did a very good job of explaining what was going on and how is affected Theo. I thought that this book was entertaining and informing because, this book had many good details that made me want to keep reading. This book was also informing because while I was reading I was learning some new things about the law and how the courtroom works. Also while I was reading this book I was agreeing with what the author had written about the arguments that were going on concerning the bypass.
I really like this book and would give it a 4.5 star rating. I would give this rating because this was a great book, but at times I got a little angry at what was happening. This book left me with realizing that when the state tries to build more roads or what ever there is a much bigger proses than just voting. And at times some people are affected by what they are building in a good and bad way. I would recommend this book to 7th grade and above. I would recommend this because at times what the author was saying is a little hard to grasp. But this is really a great book, and I would recommend that you read it. Also there are more books in this series.
III. Theodore Boone: The Activist Quotes
The best book quotes from Theodore Boone: The Activist by John Grisham
“Quitting is not the answer. Life is not fair, and you can’t quit every time something unfair happens to you.”
“If you’re not nervous, son, then something is wrong.”
“Don’t ever get involved in politics, Theo. It’s a dirty game.”
“Boone suggested Theo go home, take”
“Most of his pals did not understand how it was possible to have a friend who was a girl but not actually a girlfriend. Theo had grown weary of trying to explain this. It was complicated.”
“He couldn’t wait to get to school.”
“The digital age was dragging older lawyers like the Boones into the world of paperless files and storage, and not a minute too soon… Why destroy so many trees to produce much paper that becomes useless almost as fast as it is filed away?”
Excerpted from Theodore Boone: The Activist by John Grisham
Chapter 1
The opponent was the team from Central, the “other” school in town and the great rival of Strattenburg Middle School. Whenever there was a game or a match or contest of any sort against Central, the tensions were higher, the crowds were bigger, and things just seemed more important. This was true even for a debate. One month earlier, the SMS Eighth-Grade Debate Team had won at Central in a packed auditorium, and when the decision was announced by the judges the crowd was not happy. There were a few boos, though these were quickly hushed. Good behavior and sportsmanship were expected, regardless of the contest.
Strattenburg’s captain was Theodore Boone, who was also the anchor, the closer, the go-to guy when the pressure was on. Theo and his team had never lost, though they were not quite undefeated. Two months earlier, they had tied with the SMS girls’ team after a rowdy debate on the issue of raising the driving age from sixteen to eighteen.
But Theo wasn’t thinking about other debates at the moment. He was onstage, seated at a folding table. Aaron on one side and Joey on the other, all three young men in coats and ties and looking quite snappy, and all three staring across the stage at the team from Central. Mr. Mount, Theo’s adviser, friend, and debate coach, was speaking into a microphone and saying, “And now, the final statement by Strattenburg, from Theodore Boone.”
Theo glanced at the crowd. His father was sitting in the front row. His mother, a busy divorce lawyer, was tied up in court and upset that she was missing her only child in action. Behind Mr. Boone was a row of girls, including April Finnemore, one of Theo’s closest friends, and Hallie Kershaw, the most popular girl in the entire eighth grade. Grouped behind the girls were a bunch of teachers: Madame Monique, from Cameroon, who taught Spanish and was Theo’s second favorite, after Mr. Mount, of course; and Mrs. Garman, who taught Geometry; and Mrs. Everly, who taught English. Even Mrs. Gladwell, the principal, was there. All in all a nice crowd, for a debate anyway. For a basketball or football game, there would have been twice as many spectators, but then those teams had more than three contestants per side, and, frankly, were more exciting to watch.
Theo tried not to consider these things, though it was difficult. An asthma condition prohibited him from participating in organized sports, so this was his chance to compete before spectators. He loved the fact that most of his classmates were terrified of speaking in public, while he enjoyed the challenge. Justin could dribble a basketball between his legs and hit three-pointers all day long, but when called on in class he was as timid as a four-year-old. Brian was the fastest thirteen-year-old swimmer in Strattenburg, and he enjoyed the confident swagger of a great athlete, but put him in front of a crowd and he wilted.
Not Theo. Theo spent little time in the bleachers cheering for the other kids; instead, he hung around courtrooms and watched lawyers battle before juries and judges. He would be a great lawyer one day, and though he was only thirteen, he had already learned the valuable lesson that speaking in public was important to success. It wasn’t easy. In fact, as Theo stood and walked business-like to the podium, he felt his stomach flip and his heart race. He had read stories of great athletes and their pregame routines, and how many of them were so tense and edgy they would actually vomit. Theo did not feel sick to his stomach, but he felt the fear, the unease. A veteran trial lawyer had once told him: “If you’re not nervous, son, then something is wrong.”
Theo was certainly nervous, but he knew from experience it was only temporary. Once the game started, the butterflies disappeared. He touched the microphone, looked at the moderator, and said, “Thank you, Mr. Mount.” He turned to the Central team, cleared his throat, reminded himself once again to speak clearly and slowly, and began, “Now, Mr. Bledsoe makes some valid points, especially when he argues that someone who breaks the law should not benefit from it. And that many American students who were born here and whose parents were born here cannot afford college. These arguments cannot be ignored.”
Theo took a breath, then turned his attention to the spectators, though he avoided eye contact. He had learned a few tricks during his career in debate, and one of the most important was to ignore the faces in the crowd. They could be distracting. They could make you lose your train of thought. Instead, Theo looked at objects when he spoke—an empty seat on the right side, a clock in the back of the room, a window on the left side—and as he spoke he continually shifted his gaze from one to the other. This gave the clear impression that Theo was tuned in to the crowd, looking earnestly, communicating. It made him seem comfortable at the podium, something the judges always liked.
He continued: “However, children of undocumented workers—we used to call them illegal immigrants—have no choice where they are born, nor can they choose where they live. Their parents made the decision to enter, illegally, the United States, and they did so primarily because they were hungry and looking for a job. It’s not fair to punish the children for what their parents did. We have students in this school, and at Central, and at every school in this district, who are not supposed to be here because their parents broke the law. But, we admit them, accept them, and our system educates them. In many cases, they are our friends.”
The issue was red-hot. There was a noisy movement sweeping across the state to prohibit the children of undocumented workers from enrolling in public colleges. Those who supported the ban argued that the large number of “illegals” would (1) swamp the university system; and (2) squeeze out American students who might otherwise barely qualify for college; and (3) consume millions in tax dollars paid in by real US citizens. The Central team had done a good job making these points so far in the debate.
Theo went on, “The law requires this school system, and every school system in this state, to accept and educate all students, regardless of where they come from. If the state has to pay for the first twelve years, why then should the state be allowed to slam the doors when these students are ready for college?”
Theo had some notes scribbled on a sheet of paper in front of him on the podium, but he refused to look down. Judges loved debaters who spoke without looking down, and Theo knew he was earning points. All three of the boys from Central had relied on their notes.
He raised a finger and said, “First, it’s a question of fairness. All of us have been told by our parents that they expect us to go to college. It’s part of the American dream. It seems unfair, then, to pass a law that will prohibit many of our students, and many of our friends, from being admitted to college.” He raised another finger. “Second, competition is always good. Mr. Bledsoe takes the position that US citizens should be given priority in college admissions because their parents were here first, even though some of these students are not as qualified as the children of undocumented workers. Shouldn’t our colleges admit the best students, period? Across this state, each year there are about thirty thousand openings for incoming freshmen. Why should anyone get special consideration? If our colleges admit the best students, doesn’t that make our colleges stronger? Of course it does. No one should be admitted unless he or she deserves it, just as no one should be denied based on where his or her parents were born.”
Mr. Mount worked hard to suppress a grin. Theo was on a roll and he knew it. He managed to add just a trace of anger to his voice, nothing too dramatic, but the right touch that conveyed the message—This is so obvious, how can anyone argue with me? Mr. Mount had seen this before. Theo was moving in for the kill.
….
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