Leapholes

November 1, 2006
Gr 6 Up-Racing away from home on his bike to avoid being dragged to another embarrassing visit with his imprisoned father, a South Florida middle schooler is hit by a car and swept into this time-travel thriller. Ryan faces a number of narrow escapes and gradually comes to accept that he has been recruited by Hezekiah, an elderly African-American Legal Eagle, to succeed him. Hezekiah uses leapholes in conjunction with law books to travel back in time to meet the people behind the cases that have established precedent, good or bad, and that determine our current legal environment. Whats not to like about a book that says, Nowhere is the imagination less constrained than in a library and that incorporates lawyer jokes? Unfortunately, weak characterization and circumstantial plot make this novel less appealing for sophisticated teen readers. A portion of the story involves "Dred Scott v. Sandford", and the author has to explain abolition and the Underground Railroad to a clueless Ryan, even though he has studied the Civil War. Extensive end matter includes responses from 19 famous lawyers about why they entered the profession. Fans of Horowitz might bite on this, but not of Grisham."Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2007
After his father is wrongly imprisoned, Ryan is recruited by a lawyer in a secret society to help find and close legal loopholes. Using magical "leapholes" accessed by law books, they travel through time to witness events firsthand. While the cases referenced are accurate, the historical contexts are flawed and Ryan's father's legal woes are unrealistic.

(Copyright 2007 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)