The Accused is book three of the Theodore Boone series by John Grisham and continues the adventures of young Theo. As the city of Strattenburg prepares for the retrial of the murder case from the first book Theo seems to be having a run of bad luck. Every time he turns around the tire on his bike needs replaced and eventually they notice the tires are being slashed. Theo then notices several things are missing from his locker at school and after a few days of not being able to find the missing items worries they were stolen. That is about when he starts getting a feeling of being watched or maybe even followed. Theo decides to tell his parents after there is a rock thrown through his window at the law office. Before he has a chance it all comes to a head when the police show up to accuse him of theft with some pretty compelling evidence implying a very good framing job.
I liked the way this story went as it stayed true to the characters introduced so far but put them in a really different type of situation. It helped show just how dedicated Theo is to the law and his dream of being a lawyer while also showing just how well dedicated he is to the idea of justice and right and wrong. He wants to help clear his name and find out who actually committed the theft but he also wants to stay within the law and within moral boundaries while doing so. Considering he is only thirteen he shows a lot more restraint and consideration than most boys of that age would. Throughout the entire book I don’t think Theo has more than maybe one anger outburst or tantrum about what is going on. He just shuts up and deals with it for the most part even though he is upset about what happened. I really liked how this plot line was used to further his character development. While not necessarily unique it was well done and definitely fit the type of series being created here. I can appreciate something well done even if not entirely unique. This is the kind of character that would a good role model from what I am seeing so far. I mentioned that the plot is not unique and in many ways it is not as many kids or young adult mystery series have at least one book where the main characters get framed for a crime and they have to prove their innocence. The book still did a good job handling that plot though so I was only mildly disappointed by that fact. By using this plot it also helps to show just how diverse the series is as there doesn’t seem to be a lot of repetitious elements in the plots so far, unlike many other similar series. It feels more well-rounded because of that and hopefully less monotonous or formulaic. Overall, a good book that is a good addition to a so far good series and so it is getting four out of five stars from me.
This book is a pretty good example of a teen or young adult mystery novel with elements of the legal thrillers Grisham is known for. While it would hold the most appeal to younger teen readers who enjoy books with an element of mystery it might appeal to most readers in the same age range. It would probably be best suited for readers who are within a year or two of Theo’s age so readers between eleven and fifteen would probably enjoy it the most. I don’t think it should be read by readers younger than that and I don’t think readers older than that would enjoy it very much though they are certainly welcome to try it. There wasn’t any content that would make it hard for readers to enjoy so I hope you will consider trying it out. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments if you do.