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3C THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2016 A positive verdict on Grisham’s kid lawyer character Legal adventures where lead character is a child Theodore Boone is a role model for anyone his age, without appearing to try. By PATRICK WEBB Special to The Daily Astorian “The Fugitive” M ention bestselling author John Grisham and what comes to mind? Tangled legal dramas that capture the essence of the American South. But there’s a side to Grisham’s writing that is even more com- pelling. And unlikely, too: Enjoy- able legal adventures where the lead character is a child. “Theodore Boone: The Fugitive” is the ifth in a series of books written for young readers. And they have me hooked. I liked the work of for- mer attorney Grisham when he irst exchanged the court- room for the writer’s pen. “A Time to Kill,” about a father who shoots his daughter’s rap- ists, was an attention-grab- ber clear back in 1989 with deinite echoes of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” (In interviews, Grisham refers to it as his best book; it reportedly was rejected by several publishers and only reprinted when his three next works gained note- worthy success.) “The Firm” involved tedious photocopying, but had a plot twist involving the mob that was unexpected and explosive. “The Client,” his fourth work, is his best adult story. The movie is faithful to the plot, with Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones captur- ing Grisham’s cleverly drawn, imperfect characters amid the sweat of New Orleans. Enter Boone However, Grisham’s other output has been a series of somewhat weighty tomes that are often far-fetched. “The Pel- ican Brief” and “The Runaway Jury” seemed implausible, and took too many pages to excite. Last year’s “Rogue Lawyer” was episodic, almost as if it were notes of novel fragments strung together. Enter Theodore Boone. Theodore is a middle schooler growing up in a small American town. He’s an inquisitive, intelligent boy who rides his bike and has a dog called “Judge.” His par- ents are both lawyers, and their son hangs around the court- house where he is well liked by judges and janitors. His dad, Woods, is dull, predict- able and somewhat lethargic. His mom, Martha, who dei- nitely wears the trousers, is protective but encouraging. Her compromises allow Theo- dore to be himself. And his Uncle Ike, a struck- off lawyer, is eager to guide his nephew’s “cases” with an unorthodox approach that proves to be key. Grisham captures the thoughts of a likable eighth- grader. It may seem unbeliev- able to middle-school teach- ers, but Theodore admits he doesn’t know all the answers, he isn’t obsessed with rag- ing hormones, and he always pays attention in class. He is a role model for anyone his age, without appearing to try. The ifth book in the series, “The Fugitive,” takes Theo- dore out from the conines of his heartland hometown to Washington, D.C., where a chance glimpse at a wanted suspect leads him to adven- tures and danger involving the FBI. It’s the most far-fetched plot to date. But it works, in part because Grisham blends the familiar charac- ters with the unknown with- out stretching the boundaries of credibility. Quick, yet satisfying, reads I’d recommend the series to any Grisham fan, espe- cially someone who liked the author’s early works but inds his later, adult novels too dense and slow-paced. The Boone novels are a quick read, but satisfying. The series began with “Theodore Boone: Kid Law- yer” and was followed by “The Abduction,” “The Accused” and “The Activist.” I have read them in publication order, though I don’t recall the later books contain spoilers for the earlier ones. The sixth, “Theodore Boone: The Scandal,” is being released this month. I cannot wait. Patrick Webb is a North Coast writer and the former managing editor of The Daily Astorian. Surveillance: Mayor LaMear took a measured view Continued from Page 1C In addition, an FBI Inspector General report from last year revealed that the bureau’s collection of phone records between 2004 and 2009, as authorized by the USA Patriot Act, did not itself foil any terrorist attacks. But, even if government agencies’ collection of per- sonal data had helped to thwart attacks, would that be worth living in a panopticon state? At least one person at Williams’ talk said “no.” Another said he would be more willing to sup- port a period of heightened national surveillance, pro- vided it was a stopgap and would be reined in when the threat had passed. Astoria Mayor Arline LaMear took a measured view of surveillance. “I think there are times when surveillance is import- ant. We’ve talked about all the negatives, but I’m happy when they take a look at who’s coming on board air- planes and so forth when I’m flying,” she said. “It’s hard to know how to balance the whole thing.” Erick Bengel/The Daily Astorian Why privacy? Williams raised a ques- tion so basic that even the most emphatic opponents of surveillance forget to ask it: Why do we value pri- vacy in the first place? Why do we care if our privacy is invaded? “What is it about this idea of having unobserved space, or unobserved time, that we find valuable?” he asked. One possible answer: To maintain our sanity, and to feel like ourselves, we need room to drop our guards, to unselfconsciously behave as flawed beings — to tell off-color jokes and sing out of tune, write careless texts and emails, behave vulnera- bly and emotionally, use the bathroom and be sexual. “It’s not like we don’t do those things in public because we’re ashamed of them,” Williams said. “It’s just that we don’t do those things in public because we don’t want to.” The “unobserved space” is where we store the blooper reels of our lives, the outtakes that prove we’re human. When that space is monitored and the details Astoria Mayor Arline LaMear, right, and her husband, Cliff, engage in a group discussion at the Astoria Public Library about balancing matters of privacy and security in an age of government surveillance and concerns about terrorism. shared without our consent, it feels like a fundamen- tal violation — a trespass against our dignity. What’s more, when we know that such monitor- ing may be taking place, we cannot help checking our own behavior, acting as our own prison guards, even in private. In a sense, when we sub- mit to surveillance measures, we give up the freedom to fully relax. Several people at Williams’ talk reckoned that is a rather steep price for safety and security. And make no mistake: At the heart of every pro-sur- veillance sales pitch is the promise that it will make society safer and more secure. “Personally, it think that the burden of proof that it does do that needs to be on the people who are exer- cising authority,” Williams said. “I think this should remain a question, but it’s a question that people who are exercising the control should be able to answer.” Erick Bengel/The Daily Astorian During the Oregon Humanities Conversation Project’s event “Keeping Tabs on America,” Astoria City Councilor Drew Herzig shared his thoughts on the transparency of citizen’s lives to a less-than-transparent government surveillance infrastructure. W hile other n ew spa pers give you less, The D a ily Astoria n GIVES YOU From left: H illa ry Borru d , M a teu sz Perk ow sk i, Pa ris Achen O u r n ew M ORE C APITAL B UREAU covers the sta te for you
