Book Review: The Scandal by John Grisham

This month, I picked up ‘The Scandal’ for my monthly review. Although I read few other books too this month, I chose this one for review because it belongs to a different genre. The Theodore Boone series by John Grisham is targeted at the middle grade kids (8-13 year olds). I am doing a reading challenge with my sister (more about it later) and one of the challenges is to read a book released this year. I like crime-based law and who better than John Grisham to write about this. Only after checking out this book on Goodreads did I realize that this is a novel for children. I grew up reading The Famous Five, The Secret Seven and Nancy Drew. So I was curious to know what the new generation was being presented with.

It is a small book spanning across 138 pages. Just right for 8-13 year olds. Theo, short for Theodore, is born to lawyer parents. It is only natural that he has a keen interest in law. He is precocious and is the only kid lawyer in town. ‘The Scandal’ is the sixth book in the Theodore Boone series and deals with cheating in standardized tests. The district of Strattenburg has to go through a state wide standardized testing format for the eighth graders based on which the students will be grouped into three categories. The top ten percent are taken into honors, the second batch will be intermediate and the bottom most are deemed slow learners and put into remedial schools. Things get murky when one of the low performing schools shows a shocking improvement in scores. An anonymous tip off about cheating makes the district head appoint investigators to look into the matter. Theo gets involved in the case unwillingly and finds out that he has a larger part to play.

A huge challenge for me was to constantly remind myself that this book is not even for young adults but for pre-teens. Bearing this in mind, I was surprised to see that John Grisham has sensed the pulse of the kids so well. The language is simple and at times legal words are explained for better understanding. The whole angle of law itself is a good concept because it familiarizes kids with how the judiciary works. The animal court is something which does not exist in India. Apparently, one can represent himself in animal court which provides Theo ample opportunity to be the acting lawyer and exercise his skills. One of the unsettling things in the book is Theo’s indifference to seeking justice. Being the protagonist of the book, I wish he had showed much more interest in dealing with a scandal that affected the futures of a lot of people. I stand by his belief that test scores cannot determine a person’s skill and talent. But being an honors student opens up access to the best courses and teaching. Seeing how this could work wonders for his friend should have been reason enough for him to sit up and take notice. Yet, I cannot bring myself to be too harsh on him. After all he is just a 13-year old.

Theo has his own redeeming qualities. He is a good friend and sticks up for his mates. His passion for law is inspiring. Also, I like how Theo’s parents get him involved whenever there is something concerning him. Treating a kid like an adult makes him responsible. The book itself has some interesting side plots on the harmful effects of drinking, how it can affect the person as well as his family. A useless camping trip is also included to fill in the pages. Even though I would not put this book in the same category as Enid Blyton’s or Carolyne Keene’s, it is a commendable effort towards good reading for pre-teens. One which deals with real life problems rather than fantasies and romance.

Look what I made!

The Lawn Fawn stamps are so adorable! I have them here on printer paper and colored in with sharpies. The colors have blended in so well. They look like printed stickers! Now I have to think where I can use them :P

 

Shirdi pravasa

It has been a hectic weekend. Last week I was returning from office when my mom called me. My cousins were planning to go to Shirdi and she wanted to know whether we could go too. I have heard a lot about not being able to go to Shirdi unless you get ‘baba ka bulaava’. Plus my parents seemed to be very excited about it. I immediately said yes. And just like that flight tickets and hotels were booked and the itinerary was confirmed.

Friday early morning, we set off to board the 7 A.M. flight. I was feeling very happy looking at my parents. I know that they are at ease when I am around. Sometimes, the OCD in me helps. I obsess so much about packing the suitcases the right way, getting the right amount of food and sleep and about being on time that they automatically leave everything to me :) We were going to Mumbai first since my cousin had some work there. We took the prepaid taxi from the airport to a relative’s place in Thane. The Mumbai weather is humid just like Mangalore. All of us were relieved to get into the comfort of the AC at our relative’s place. After lunch at Viviana Mall, we decided to go to Elco market for some street shopping. I don’t know why but street shopping in pictures from the web looks so much better than the actual experience. The vibrant photos always give me a carnival feel. However, when I visit the place, I am more often than not disappointed. The place was similar to our commercial street in Bangalore. Yet, I ended up buying a pair of shoes, couple of jeans, capris, 3 tops and some jewelry! :P

The next day we went to Shani Maharaj temple in Shani Singapur. Rumor goes that the villagers do not lock their doors here because nobody dares to indulge in crime in Shani Mahadev’s place. On reaching we found out that it was Shani Jayanti and we were unexpectedly greeted with a huge crowd. Our TT driver Javed Bhai was very smart and took us through a short cut. We observed that generally the taxi drivers in Mumbai are very helpful, except for one guy who took us for a ride, literally and figuratively. In the temple, we were told about the rituals to be performed as we proceed towards the God. We bought the puja basket and a bottle of oil. Upon entering the temple, there is a Trishul. We pierced the black cloth on the Trishul and offered coconut and puffed rice. Within the temple, there is a black idol of Shanidev. We offered metal coins (loha) and poured oil into a common channel which is then used for the God’s abhisheka. We also put the agarbatti and other puja items into a homa kunda. We were advised that after praying to Shanidev, we should walk away without turning back. We did as told and moved on to our next destination Shirdi.

At Shirdi, we had booked a hotel called Pushpak Resorts via OYO rooms. Although we booked late, we got the rooms at almost half rate. We were surprised to see the clean rooms with TV and AC, all for Rs.2100 for 3 people. I wish they had separated the wet and dry area in the bathroom. A small slab of stone, few millimetres in height, would have sufficed. Nevertheless, the rooms were very comfortable. We quickly changed and went to Sai Mandir. We were just stepping inside the premises and a sense of calm prevailed over us. We walked in to the soft chants of “Hey sai ram.. Hey sai ram.. Har har Krishna.. Radhe radhe shyaam”. I love that song. I often sing/listen to it when I am feeling low. But we were rudely awakened from our trance as we neared the darshan area. People barged in from all sides and we were pushed and shoved. Just like the Shani temple, I barely registered seeing the Sai baba idol and before I could even say a prayer, I was out of the mandir.

We have a Sai Mandir near our house and honestly speaking, I have felt a much stronger connect to God there than here at God’s own place. Sometimes, I feel that we get so engrossed in following all the rules and regulations of the temple, that we even forget to pray to God. But once we were out of the crowd, the familiar sense of peace returned. We visited the holy neem tree where baba used to sit and the one where baba’s guru used to sit. I got to know that when the archaeology team had excavated near the guru’s tree, they had found lamps which were still alight. The lamps are burning even now and are in a concealed chamber two floors down. The general public is not allowed there. I wish I had read the Sai Satcharitra so that I could have identified these places of importance. Since our darshan within the Mandir was very hurried, we waited for the aarati at 10:30 P.M.. Big screen TVs are set up near open spaces for  people to sit and watch the aarati at close distance. Mom and I sat down in front of one such TV. At the end of the aarati, we felt truly blessed.

After a rejuvenating night, we started to Bombay. We visited yet another relative and boarded the 9:20 P.M. flight to Bangalore. The return flight from GoIndigo was not as comfortable as the flight from Jet Airways. All of us were spent and just wanted to get back to our beds. We reached home at 12 A.M.. I was relieved that my parents had got through the trip without any problems. It has been a tiring yet satisfying trip :)