Theodore Boone Kid Lawyer / John Grisham/ 263 pages

Only child of two attorneys, Theodore Boone lives and breathes law.  He's a courthouse junkie and knows all the police, lawyers, judges, bailiffs, etc. in town.  As an 8th grader, Theodore excels in all his classes and also provides legal advice to his classmates.  In this first book featuring Theodore, he helps to make sure an accused murderer gets justice.  I sometimes cringe when celebrities or bestselling authors of adult books try their hand at books for kids.  Grisham does okay.  There's plenty of action, lots of info about the court system, law, and enough interest to keep readers engaged.  I'm not totally convinced that readers will totally relate to the characters though.  Theodore is one mature 8th grader with his own laptop.  There are already two sequels: the Abduction and the Accused.  It will be interesting to see how this one does in the 2012-2013 Mark Twain voting.