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Series · middle grade

Theodore Boone

by John Grisham

The Theodore Boone series by John Grisham has 7 known books (7 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer (2010). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Theodore Boone: The Scandal.

Books
7 known books (7 novels)
Published
7
First published
2010
Status
ongoing
Last checked

Start here: Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer (2010) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer (2010)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer

    Novel

    Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer opens John Grisham's middle-grade legal series in 2010, introducing thirteen-year-old Theo Boone as he ends up at the center of a murder trial, holding a secret about a witness that most adults never learn. At 268 pages, it establishes the Strattenburg courthouse setting that carries through the series.

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  2. Theodore Boone: The Abduction

    Novel

    Theodore Boone: The Abduction followed on June 7, 2011, at 256 pages, sending Theo after a friend's mother who vanishes across the border -- one of the real, kid-appropriate legal stakes John Grisham built the series around to show how the American legal system actually works.

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  3. Theodore Boone: The Accused

    Novel

    Theodore Boone: The Accused arrived May 15, 2012, at 288 pages -- the longest book in the series to that point -- turning the courtroom lens on Theo himself, as a false accusation of theft upends his own life.

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  4. Theodore Boone: The Activist

    Novel

    Theodore Boone: The Activist came out May 21, 2013, almost exactly a year after The Accused, putting Theo at the center of an environmental fight against a chemical plant. It runs 289 pages, the longest entry in the series.

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  5. Theodore Boone: The Fugitive

    Novel

    A two-year gap -- the longest between any two entries -- separates The Activist from Theodore Boone: The Fugitive, published May 12, 2015, at 272 pages.

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  6. Theodore Boone: The Scandal

    Novel

    Theodore Boone: The Scandal followed on May 10, 2016, at 224 pages, the shortest book in the series, centering on an SAT cheating scandal that pulls Theo into another real-world legal question about evidence and fairness.

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  7. Theodore Boone: The Accomplice

    Novel

    Theodore Boone: The Accomplice closed out the series in 2019, three years after The Scandal, with Theo stumbling into a kidnapping plot at 236 pages -- the last of the seven self-contained cases John Grisham built around the Strattenburg courthouse.

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About the Theodore Boone series

Theodore Boone is John Grisham's legal thriller series for younger readers, following a thirteen-year-old in the small town of Strattenburg whose parents are both lawyers and who knows more about courtroom procedure than most adults. Theo isn't a detective in the usual sense — he can't practice law, and he's careful (mostly) to stay inside the rules of his small-town world — but he ends up at the center of real cases anyway: a murder trial where he holds a secret about a witness in Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer (2010), a friend's mother who vanishes across the border in The Abduction (2011), a false accusation of theft that upends his own life in The Accused (2012), an environmental fight against a chemical plant in The Activist (2013), a missing key witness in The Fugitive (2015), an SAT cheating scandal in The Scandal (2016), and a kidnapping plot he stumbles into in The Accomplice (2019).

Grisham built the series to explain how the American legal system actually works — what a grand jury does, why evidence gets thrown out, how a trial is run — through a kid narrator smart enough to notice when adults are cutting corners. Each book is a self-contained case with its own stakes, but Theo's friendships, his lawyer parents, and his growing reputation around the Strattenburg courthouse build steadily across the series. It's a natural next step for young readers who've outgrown easier mysteries and are ready for real (if kid-appropriate) legal stakes, and a light, fast read for adult Grisham fans curious about his non-thriller side.

Frequently asked questions

How many Theodore Boone books are there?

Seven: Kid Lawyer (2010), The Abduction (2011), The Accused (2012), The Activist (2013), The Fugitive (2015), The Scandal (2016), and The Accomplice (2019).

What order should I read the Theodore Boone books in?

Publication order, starting with Kid Lawyer. Theo and his friendships develop across the series, though each book's case is self-contained.

What age group is Theodore Boone written for?

It's John Grisham's middle-grade series, generally recommended for readers around ages 10 to 14, though many adult Grisham fans read it too.

Is Theodore Boone connected to Jake Brigance or Grisham's other adult novels?

No. Theodore Boone is set in the fictional town of Strattenburg, separate from Ford County and Grisham's other series, and requires no prior Grisham reading.

Is there an eighth Theodore Boone book coming?

None has been announced since The Accomplice in 2019; the series is generally considered complete for now, though Grisham has not stated it's finished.

Reading order last verified .