Rating: 
Summary: A Waste Of Money!
Review: This book is definitely NOT worth buying. This is not up to par with the previous books Grisham has written. The beginning was good, but the story dragged on from there. By the time I got halfway, I wanted to stop reading right there. However, I forced myself to continue and I found the ending to be very mediocre. This book lacked in plot and was more of a morality book on how you should treat those who are less fortunate.
Rating: 
Summary: Not too bad, but could've used more work
Review: This is a long book, and it hs to be for all the bases it has to cover. The first three chapter cover a hostage sitution. Grisham should have mde the story more about this than a lawyer finding a conscience. It is a great step up from "The Firm," but still Grisham needs more polish.
Rating:
Summary: Great Grisham opening, slow reading and predictable end
Review: After an electrifying first two chapters, I was anticipating yet another great thriller by this popular author, but the story was only interesting because of being set in the world of the homeless and even that was trite.The plot of the Street Lawyer pits wealth against poverty , rich lawyers vs the homeless.By the time it was over, I was cheering for the wealthy who had to fork over millions to satisfy an outlandish court settlement -too much like real life there. No surprises in this book. Hope his next is better.
Rating: 
Summary: A lawyer learns about life on the street
Review: "You Don't Do It For The Money. You Do It For The Soul." Soul searching. Kindness. Greed. Suspense. Drama. These are only a few words that describe John Grisham's novel, The Street Lawyer. In this story, a wealthy lawyer transforms into a street lawyer that helps the homeless receive justice. Grisham incorporates current events and people in the news to enable the reader to relate to the plot more. Grisham makes the reader more aware of contemporary issues, such as homelessness, poverty, lack of generosity, and the greed of large law firms. Grisham has the ability to make you understand the lives of homeless people better by having you witness the experiences that the main character goes through. Michael Brock has everything a young lawyer would dream of- membership in a famous law firm, a $750,000 a year salary, 3 years until he makes over a million dollars a year, an expensive Lexus, a $2,400 a month apartment. Then why would he want to give it up for a $30,000 a year salary and a closet for an office? Michael's friend, Mordecai, said it best -"You don't do it for the money. You do it for the soul." Michael became a public interest lawyer who concentrates on helping the homeless because of a traumatic experience he was in. Michael and members of his firm are held hostage by a homeless man who was just evicted from his apartment by Michael's firm. The homeless man was killed but Michael was left emotionally altered. Michael then decides to initiate a crusade for the homeless. He , first, helps out at a soup kitchen and then gets involved in a law firm that specifies with the homeless. This story takes you into the world of the homeless. You realize what it is like to go to bed hungry, live in a car, walk around with all your possessions, not knowing where you are sleeping that night, etc. It opens your eyes to the hope and despair in the lives of the homeless. It also opens your eyes to the greed of wealthy lawyers. Michael experiences, first hand, the deaths of a homeless mother and her children. Drake and Sweeney evicted them from their building. They were found freezing to death in their car. The deaths of these innocent people helped ignite his passion for justice for the homeless. The Street Lawyer teaches the reader to be more generous to those who do not have as much as you. "If you do not do it for others, do it for your soul."««««« Stephanie Seidell
Rating: 
Summary: Grisham has done it again!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It place focus on an issue many people do not pay much attention to.
Rating:
Summary: Poor Attempt at Political Correctness
Review: Probably one of the worst books I have ever read, considering the experience of the author. Although I have come to expect the same screenplay-esque and "root for the underdog" style and theme from Grisham, I found this book to be quite sub-par. This is a far cry from "The Firm" or "A Time To Kill," what I consider to be the author's best works. Even "The Chamber" is a much more effective and moving story in its attempt to address the controversey surrounding capital punishment. "The Street Lawyer," on the other hand, is entirely too predictable after the first 75-100 pages. Moreover, the author leans far too much on the crutch of the first-person narration to convey the main character's thoughts to the reader, when it doesn't seem necessary. Grisham should stick to third-person.
Rating:
Summary: A good read -- highlights the plight of the homeless
Review: A compassionate book. Not as slick as his previous ones. The ending is well thought out. Interesting first person narrative.
Rating:
Summary: Great Reading
Review: I loved the charactors in this book. The way Grisham describes them gets you hooked in the first few pages. Makes you think alot about how our society is and how greedy people are.
Rating:
Summary: keeps you looking around every corner for one more suprise!!
Review: An outstanding example of keeping the reader guessing which way this story is going to turn. I thought this was one of Grishams knights in shining armor.I could only envision James Earle Jones as Mordecai Green. **** Star rating. Read this book, you wont be dissapointed.
Rating:
Summary: The Street Lawyer is an action filled legal novel.
Review: Book Review: John Grisham is known for writing action filled legal novels. The Street Lawyer is his ninth, and most recent novel, which fits that category quite well. It's suspenseful plot and fast pace mix well with the emotional and legal themes presented. Grisham ties these diverse aspects of the main character, Michael Brock's life together in an interesting and understandable way. Instead of beginning with background information about the main characters, and the usual slow moving start, Grisham begins with a hostage situation which takes place and is resolved within the first twenty pages. As the plot goes on the reader finds out more and more about the characters. But it is done in a smooth, flowing way. Much unlike the style of James Joyce, where you are thrown into the middle of a character's life and left confused and uninformed (or at least I was). The hostage situation in the first chapter is resolved by the sniping of the captor, a homeless man who seems to have no intentions of harming anyone. He just wants to grab the attention of a few rich lawyers for long enough to let them know how much they have and how little they share with the needy. After hearing the vagabond's pleas and seeing him killed Michael Brock contemplates leaving his prestigious law firm, Drake & Sweeny, to pursue a career in street law, defending the poor and homeless. At the same time he has to face the fact that his relationship with his wife, Claire, is deteriorating and near an end. Finding a file containing a list of names of people who were illegally evicted from an apartment building, including the name of the bum who held Michael hostage and a family who dies during a snowstorm , helps him make his decision to leave the firm and go into public-interest law. Michiko Kakutani, of The New York Times, has a very different opinion on The Street Lawyer. He feels that Grisham is predictable and lacks talent. He stated that "Mr. Grisham has never been particularly good at creating characters with any real emotional depth,"(Kakutani 1-2) I feel that Michael Brock displays an emotional side that is realistic as well as the struggle that he goes through between pursuing happiness through money, power and material things or through using his knowledge and talent to help others as well as satisfy himself. His decision may not seem very realistic in today's society but his struggle and confusion are definitely realistic. And there must be some people who really do chose to follow their giving, unselfish side otherwise the world would be in a lot worse shape than it is. I had never read a John Grisham novel before The Street Lawyer. I had seen the movie versions of The Pelican Brief, The Firm and A Time To Kill, and enjoyed them all, so I expected to enjoy his writing and I did. It isn't a very challenging read but it is a good book to relax and be entertained by, and if they come out with a movie I will definitely see it. Works Cited: Grisham, John. The Street Lawyer. New York: Doubleday,1998. Kakutani, Michiko. A Lawyer Converts To Virtue .The New York Times,10 Feb.1998,late ed.
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