Leapholes [Hardcover]

Every Saturday for the past year, eleven-year-old Ryan indignantly visits his father who sits in a jail cell. Supposedly, his father is innocent; at least that's what his father tells Ryan. Yet, Ryan witnessed with his own eyes as his father pleaded guilty in front of a judge. Ryan feels his father has betrayed him with the lies and the claimed crime, and it doesn't help at all that the entire town now shuns him and his family. As the time for this Saturday's visit approaches, Ryan finally can't stand it another minute and decides to leave. He's not running away, per se, he just decides to be somewhere else during prison visiting hour.

As Ryan furiously rides off on his bike, he experiences a bad collision with a vehicle. Wounded and out of sorts, Ryan struggles as a flat-faced stranger picks him up and loads him into the back of a station wagon. Then Ryan looses consciousness. He wakes up in the hospital feeling sore and bruised but not seriously hurt. Still not ready to face his father again, he decides to slip out before his mom can claim him. But before he can leave, a fire alarm sounds and chaos erupts! Ryan knows the way out, yet he witnesses Kaylee, the girl from the hospital bed next to his, heading in the wrong direction. He has to help her.

He finds Kaylee and four others, one of whom leads them in the wrong direction. Soon they are hopelessly lost, cut off by the smoke and flames. They break through a locked door and find themselves in an infectious disease lab --- and exposed to a horribly deadly disease. The doctors have five antidotes for the six infected people. They agree to draw straws, with Kaylee losing. She will die.

But Ryan refuses to accept this result. Before anyone can react, he grabs the five antidotes and divides them into six doses...but it doesn't work, and four people end up dead. Ryan is arrested for manslaughter.

Terrified and alone, yet still certain he had done the right thing, Ryan is taken to prison to await trial. He soon meets Hezekiah, the eccentric old lawyer assigned to him. Immediately, Ryan realizes that Hezekiah is no ordinary lawyer, but he has no clue as to just how remarkable the sneaker-wearing lawyer really is. Hezekiah is part of a special group of lawyers called Legal Eagles, who battle the evil in the law system. Hezekiah and the Legal Eagles introduce Ryan to a world of law that he could have never imagined --- one with time travel! Using special tools called leapholes, Ryan and Hezekiah travel back in time to actually witness and experience events leading up to the laws working in the court system today! And the surprises don't end there; Hezekiah invites Ryan to join the Legal Eagles. But when Hezekiah disappears into the past, Ryan must find the courage and strength to go find him. And what Ryan sees may finally bring peace and understanding back between him and his father.

Author Mr. James Grippando is no novice to writing with eleven books under his belt. And LEAPHOLES, book number twelve, is his first novel for young adults. Mr. Grippando uses his lawyer background to weave a fast-paced story that takes a non-traditional look at the law, and very importantly, the people behind those laws. Not just a story for future lawyers, many will enjoy reading an exciting journey that brings to life the sometimes confusing and seemingly remote world of law. Added bonuses include a list of discussion questions that will assist in classroom and book club conversations, and a collection of essays by lawyers on their backgrounds and why they chose to study law.

--- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of Finding My Light and The Black Pond
--- Courtesy of [...]

I really liked Leapholes and would give it 4.5 stars out of five, but i think someone a little younger than me (say 11 or 12) would definitely give it 5 stars. This is a great book for seventh grade history students because they are studying Civics and learning about cases like Dred Scott v. Sandford. And this is also a good book for eighth graders as they are learning American History and may of the things discussed in Leapholes, such as the underground railroad, are taught to these students. I thought it was very cool how the author gave a certain famous American president a cameo role (I won't say who, since it might spoil the mystery). The only fault I found was that the titles of "Legal Eagles" and "Legal Evil" were a little childish, but I thought that the way the author handled this was good--he basically has the characters making fun of the terms too, saying that no one should hire a lawyer who can't make fun of himself. The mystery in this book is fantastic. You will want to keep turning the pages to learn the meaning of the riddle "where the brood follows the dam," and the final surprise involving Ryan's family is one that I would never have seen coming. (I read many Nancy Drew books when I was younger and was almost always able to figure them out). I think Leapholes should become a series, and I could easily see it covering all periods of time and places. Not just the American legal system, by maybe the British or the Ancient Greek laws. Overall, a great read!

I got an advanced copy (a "galley", I think it's called) of this book due to my involvement in the ABA Criminal Justice Section. While I normally hesitate wasting time on children's or young adult fiction with all the reading I have to do as a lawyer, I made an exception in this case because this is a Grippando novel and I'm a fan.

I'm glad I did, because this novel is quite excellent, both as fiction and as a teaching tool for young people. The premise is (as in most science-fiction) a bit fantastic: A young man learns how to travel back in time, and in doing so experiences the facts and details underlying some of the most important legal cases in US history. In the process, he learns a lot about himself as well.

I particularly liked the appendix to the book, which consists of a number of essays from famous lawyers and judges, discussing what the legal system means to them.

I think this novel is both entertaining for science fiction fans, and educational for those interested in the legal system. As an adult novel, it is worthy of a read. As a young person's novel, I give it my highest rating.

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