10/17

This is my fourth blog post about the book Theodore Boone: The Abduction.  I must admit that I am truly loving the book, but wish it would pick up the speed.  The characters run into constant conflicts that get them nowhere.  I want to find April!  Theo is still convinced that he alone will be able to solve the mystery, and we still do not know whose body was found.  One can only imagine it is not April, that would be too easy.  I really  am hooked on this murder!

As a watch Theo chase dead ends, I wish that I could Talk to him.  If I could ask him a question, I would certainly want to know why he does not give up.  Theo is constantly struck down by police officers, teachers, peers, and his parents, but he still keeps going.  His perseverance is outstanding.  I want to know why he is still going at it.  I personally do not believe that he will be the one to find April, so why does he?  When there is an unidentified body and a murder behind bars, you would think he would take a rest, but he never does.  I would love to ask him why he continues.

Theo is not the only person I would like to talk to, I want to talk to the author as well.  If I could talk to the author I would ask him why Leeper (the supposed kidnaper of April) has such a personality that you want him to be the good guy.  If it turns out that Leeper truly did hurt April, then I would be upset with the author for making me fall for a man who is not who he reads to be.  If Leeper is innocent, then the story is a horribly good example of why we let guilty go to protect one innocent.  I wonder if the author secretly wants us to feel that way and get involved in protecting innocence.  Maybe Grisham would tell me that Leeper being guilty is an easy way to keep you reading.  Whatever the answer I want to know why the author portraits Leeper as a good guy.

With the body found in the river plaguing my mind,  I can only imagine the jobs of people who match bodies with names.  Just the idea of a body stripped of life being your responsibility makes me queasy!  I went to the internet in hopes of finding out more about the people who must confirm if the body is a loved one.  Here is what I found.   This website was genuinely surprising.  I believed that the shows were real, and I am quite relieved that they are not.  I think they way bodies are revealed without gruesome images is very respectful, and that the counseling is very courteous.

10/11

As I continue to read, the book pulls me in more and more!  After the school day Theo and his friends made a search party to find April.  They went around town handing out and hanging up flyers about April.  Then new hope was found, Jack Leeper, the supposed kid napper, was found in a not so nice part of town, under the bridge.  The town finally had a chance to get the answers, but Leeper would only talk for money.  He is April’s distant relative and the main suspect in the case.  Although the town thinks it is him, I am secretly rooting for his innocence. He was turned down and the hunt for April continued.

The next day Theo is back on street with a few friends persevering in their efforts to find April when his friend gets a life changing call.  A body was found at the bottom of the river and is being taken out.  In panic the boys flee to a hidden spot to watch the action.  After the body is removed and things start to clear up, Theo heads to his parents office where his mom, dad, and Elsa are watching the news.  Sadly, they still haven’t identified the body.  As I read the book I pray it isn’t April, and that Leeper is being wrongly convicted.

I can only imagine if something like this story were to happen where I live!  It would be an utter tragedy, that I am sure anyone in a forty minute radius would be stunned by.  If this happened in my are, not much would have to change.  Someone could escape from Graterford, the nearby maximum security prison, and kidnap a student from PV! Not only do we have a prison but the Perkiomen Creek would be the river to dump a body in.  Just the thought gives me shivers.

Still thinking of real life questions, I was wondering how often criminals are wrongly convicted.  What I found was that 4.1%  of people sentenced to death, were never involved in a crime! That number is a horrible number that makes me queasy.  Imagine living your life in a cell until the day you die unhappy, but you know you never did it.  Imagine having let your family and friends down, having them think you are a monster, when you are as innocent as the rest of them.  If you want to read the article click here.

10/4

In the recent chapters I have read, Theodore (Theo) has returned to school.  He always is trying to escape from the clutches of his teachers, and when he asks the day of April’s abduction, the answer is an easy no.  His parents grown weary of him missing send him on his way.

At school Theo is bombarded by questions.  From his first steps in the building three crying girls await to ask about April.  Sadly, Theo doesn’t have the answers.  Then in almost every class, more questions appear from his teachers and peers.  Everyone in the  book fill with disappointment.  The characters are not the only ones waiting for an answer, so am I!  I am on edge waiting to find April Finmore.

Connecting The Abduction back to real life, I was wondering what it is like for people like Theo in these situations.  What happens to the family members of people who have been abducted? After looking for some information what I found was that very often family members abduct family members! Here is what I found.

10/2

The Abduction is the third book in the Theodore Boone series by John Grisham.  The book is a page turner that drags you forward on a quest to find April Finmore.  After reading the first, the second was a must read. Theodore Boone is an only child in a small town.  In town there is not much, but all Theodore wants is there, the courthouse.  Both of Theodore’s parents are attorneys, and Theodore might as well be too.

When he is not meddling in law, Theodore goes to school with his best friend April finmore.  In the first book the two are always there for each other and do everything together.  A happy story until the second book, which I am currently reading, when April gets abducted.

April Finmore’s life was no fairy tale.  Her father was a musician who would make enough money to tour, and then be out of her life until he needed more money.  Her mother was a crazy drug addict who did not know how to take care of a child.  With her parents, April had been left alone with no one to protect her from the abduction.

My prediction for the book is that Theodore will do anything and everything.  I am only a few chapters in, but I know with the help of the law Theodore will find his friend.  I also think the abductor might be her father, but where I am now, a name of an ex convict has been thrown into the ring.

Reading the book also gets me thinking about real life abductions.  Does stuff like this really happen? Well the answer is yes.  I think it is horrifying, yet interesting to hear about real life abductions.  If you agree and would like to read more, click here for some short stories of real life kidnappings.