Trial by Journal

by Kate Klise, M. Sarah Klise (Illustrator)

Forced to be in a courtroom all summer as a jury member for the trial of a man accused of killing her classmate, Lily Watson begins to worry if the victim is really dead or if something more mysterious is going on as his body had never been found. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Juvenile

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Catherine "Kate" Klise is an American author of children's literature. Many of her books are illustrated by her sister, M. Sarah Klise. Their popular Regarding series is presented in a scrapbook style format, with letters, journal entries, and related ephemera telling the story. She is also known for her picture books as well as the bestselling 43 Old Cemetery Road series. Kate Klise's first adult novel, In the Bag, was released in 2012.

Reviews

[Joe]

Before it became fashionable for children's books to adopt creative, artsy, and pretentious formats for storytelling, there was Trial By Journal. Assembled from newspaper articles, journal entries, paintings, dry cleaning bills, and transcripts, the novel follows the story of a grisly (or should I say "grizzly"?) murder of a young boy in a small town.

Problem #1 arrives almost immediately. In an effort to be clever, Klise has decided to provide her characters with animal names (thus the "grizzly" jab above). At first it's mildly amusing... Bob White and Perry Keet are passable monikers. It becomes obvious, however, that Klise is grasping helplessly for names when she christens a lawyer with 'Golden' Ray Treevor and a minor character is named Ken Guru. It's all very silly.

Problem #2 can be blamed on the format of the book. Although charming in its assemblage of "evidence", the content of the book suffers from flat characters and a severely underdeveloped plot that relies primarily on far-fetched coincidences and half-baked contrivances. This becomes exhausting (and obvious) very quickly.

While not a bad book, Trial By Journal is far from being necessary.

[Dana]

Trial by Journal is a unique kind of story, enjoyable for all ages although it's meant for kids ages 8-12 (I'm 21!). This was in my bookshelf in the basement, unopened for a very long time until last week when I decided to see what I hadn't read. The plot was unique (a little predictable, but then again, the book IS for a younger audience who might not have the foresight) and the characters and their antics made me laugh (especially their names :D) I think Lily's writing is a little advanced for a 12 year old, but that's okay. Through her journal entries, Fawn's biography, newspaper articles, letters, radio transcripts, etc., the reader gets a vibrant picture of how big the trial of Bob White really was. I thoroughly enjoyed the perspectives from each main character. All in all, an original, cute, entertaining and fun summer book for nearly all ages.

[Samantha]

Readers get an inside peek at a murder trial through the eyes of the first juvenile juror. 6th grader Lily Watson is selected to serve jury duty and as part of her assignment (for missing so much school), she has to keep a daily journal.

The whole town thinks Bob White, the older/creepy man who works at the zoo is to blame, but there's really no evidence, just the word of the town's richest man, Rhett Tyle. As the trial unfolds, Lily begins to doubt Bob White's guilt and does a little sleuthing which blows the whole case wide apart!

A fast and funny read told in journal entries, newspaper articles, and a menagerie of notes and other paper clippings, this book is a good read for grades 4-6.

[Ashley Sosa]

Trial By Journal by Kate Klise is about a girl named Judy and she missed a lot of assignments at school so the teacher gave her choice to go to summer school or write down in journal like a diary of what happen when she went to trial. I think this book is at a good level for 5th grade to 6th grade. I really enjoy this book it has some challenging words. Anyway I would recommend this to 5th and 6th grade.

[Ariana]

read years ago. love her layout. good elementary school read.

[Rebecca]

love love loved it!!!!!!

[Brynn Ver Velde]

I absolutely hated this book. I thought I would like the format, and the premise was very interesting. However, it was just so so SO stupid.

I have a lot of issues with this book, but one of them is the names. Here are some that particularly irked me:
Rhett Tyle - Loves snakes
Anna Conda - a fashion designer who uses snake skins*
Perry Keet - the boy who was murdered
Don Key
Willy Mammoth - a fur seller
Maggie Pie
E. Gall - the judge
Leon D. Vinci - an artist 🤯
Ken Airy
“Buzz” Ard
Sandy Piper
Woody Pecker - wood carver
Penny Gwen - tuxedo seller
This was just so stupid! I’m sure the author thought she was being punny and clever but I found it annoying. The most normal name is Lily Watson, the main character.

In the story there is an annoying retired movie star on the jury. Her name is Fawn Papillion. (What the heck is that name.) since this story is told through different mediums, (journal entries, newspapers, ads, etc.) you get to read parts of her autobiography. I would hardly call it that. It is more just a list of useless complaints. Fawn also doesn’t like computers, so you have to read about how much she hates them and read her errors. Here are actual quotes from this so - called “autobiography”.
“I was bornnnnnnnn”
“Ho hum. Truthfully it was all a bore.”
“I MUST think of something to write. I have to finish this autobiography…”
“Must concentrate on my livfe…”
“And computers are for the birdssssssss!”
“Oh crumb, this is frightful torture.”
“By golly, I can! I’ll show themsnz4zzzzzzz”
I mean, who wants to read this crap! If she hates writing so much, why do she making this “autobiography”?! Nobody cares that you can’t type. Nobody wants to read this. If Fawn was a real person, I wouldn’t be able to stand her.

Finally, the entertainment complex is owned by Rhett Tyle. But this was so overdone. These are actual quotes.
“Tyle-riffic!”
“House of S-tyle fashions”
“A versa-Tyle menu”
Okay, we understand. Tyle is a self absorbed tycoon who owns everything. We don’t need to be reminded of his name every two seconds. Guess what the entertainment complex is called? Tyle-O-Tropolis. Guess what the town is called? Tyleville. No way. Who saw that coming?! (Sarcasm.)

Skip this book. It’s so dumb.

*Anna is a human, but here is a quote of hers: “I’ll need lots of skinssss for my desginsssss.” what is this. 🐍

[Joshua]

I read this book because it was my girlfriend's favorite book from her childhood, and I found it charming, engaging, and excellent as a middle grade book. It is an intelligent book that both imparts some well-reasoned lessons and information and presents in in a fun, kid-friendly manner.

The book is put together in a variety of pieces of evidence and journal entries, and I while the animal-like names (L. E. Fant, Golden Rey Treevor, Mally Mute) get a little tired pretty early on, I think the novelty of the names would be entertaining for a lot of kids. The alternating images, radio transcriptions, and other evidence help keep kids engaged. It's not a unique storytelling concept, but it is used to good effect here. My favorite part about the book is that I think it presents everything in an intelligent and dignified manner, making no assumptions about its readers but not underestimating them, either.

The book does suffer a bit from underdeveloped characters (with the exception of Lily Watson, the main protagonist) and I feel like the teacher, Mr Holmes, had an interesting presence that disappeared almost completely for most of the book. It's difficult to tell a story with deep characters when there is very little actual prose in the story. The mystery, the absurdity, the wacky drawings, and the cartoonishly villainous antagonist all come together to make a book that is worth recommending to young readers (and maybe worth a quick read for the inner-child in all of us.)

[Hannah]

Best kids book ever written. All of my friends reading this- let me know and I’ll lend you my copy hehe

[Margery Bayne]

I read this book one time in my youth after borrowing it from the local public library, and it so permanently lodged itself in my brain that ~20 years later and hundreds of other books read, I
decided to search it up despite not remembering the title or author, found it eventually, bought it, and have now reread it. It lives up to my memories.

Trial by Journal is a multi-media epistolary novel about 12-year-old Lily Watson on a jury for a murder trial. It's a mystery, it's whimsical, it's satirical, and it's probably the place where I learned what sequestering was. In fact, Kate Klise cleverly slips in the process of the justice system throughout the text without it ever feeling like a lesson. Because the story is told from multiple sources such as Lily's journal, newspaper articles, covert messages on dry cleaning receipts, and an artist's court reporting drawings, the story leaves space for the readers to make connections, read into intent, and honestly would be a great text for teaching media literacy to young readers. Also, as a kid, I wanted to go to the animal-themed hotel the jury was sequestered in.

One thing I didn't pick up as much as a young reader was the satirical elements, like the 'protector children-esque' protestors or the influence and corruption that a wealthy person can have over what is supposed a fair legal procedure. This book does a lot while having wildly whimsical mystery plotline that involves gorilla costumes, puns, and even a dash of hypnotism.

Now that I'm done rereading, I'll be passing to my niece.

[Diane]

This is a real page-turner book! For one thing, it's not the boring-type chapter after chapter book (I don't mean that those books are boring, but a lot of those books are boring, NOT all of them of course). It's a nearly impossible story, but it's very very interesting to guess what comes next in this mystery. Most of the time, I guess incorrectly (unlike SOME books that are so obvious). In this book, I guess why so and so happens and right in the next sentence, it says in plain sight rather than pretending that the person, Lily Anabel Watson, doesn't know what it means. Good way to make the reader think that the character is NOT dumb.
I recommend this book to EVERYBODY!!!!!

[Sana]

I read this back in elementary, when there really weren't many books to choose from in my library. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to read it because it looked so strange.

I ended up liking it a lot (I don't know why, but that's often the deal with children's books). I like the characters the most, and the way the story is told is funny and sometimes ironic/funny. I ended up reading the others as well because they were so good. The author really knows how to write. (Or at least that's how I remember it; it's been a while since I've picked these books up).

[Amy]

Just as good as I remembered.

[Simona Calò]

Faccio fatica e ci metto tanto, troppo tempo perchè non è agile e scorrevole come altri libri di questa collana. Il mistero dietro la storia è intrigante e apprezzo l'idea originale di raccontarla attraverso lettere, bigliettini, articoli di giornale, diari. Il tutto si rivela, a mio avviso, piuttosto macchinoso e spesso noioso. Apprezzo, però, il tema centrale più adulto della media di questi libri, con una protagonista simpatica e in gamba che affronta un'esperienza difficile e stressante come far parte di una giuria a un processo per omicidio, la presenza di pochi adolescenti e tanti adulti in questa storia, che rende tutto più maturo e avvincente, e le preoccupazioni di questi ultimi per i primi, quando i fatti dimostreranno quanto si sbaglino a crederli ingenui e vulnerabili.
Simpatico, ma non lo rileggerei.

[SydneyTheB]

Trial by Journal is a great example of a children's novel that uses a collective format. With a format reminiscent of My Secret War Diary by Marcia Williams, this book uses personal narration in the form of a journal augmented by newspaper clippings, secret notes, drawings, flyers, tickets, and more.

Readers should not expect this book to be a good representation of the legal process however you can learn more about how trials work. What drew me to Trial by Journal was the subtle humor which even adults can appreciate. The book is full of hidden clues and laughs. If you enjoy Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, or Theodore Boone you will probably enjoy this light funny mystery novel.

[Vera Viselli]

Titolo della collana Le Ragazzine che non conoscevo assolutamente e ho scoperto per caso, La folle vicenda del mio super diario racconta di Lily, appena dodicenne, che viene chiamata a far parte della giuria che in tribunale dovrà decidere di un imputato per omicidio. Come in Professione? spia!, Lily scoprirà la verità è i segreti che si nascondono dietro alla sparizione di Perry grazie al diario che deve tenere durante il suo isolamento da giurata - compito che le viene assegnato da un suo professore, vista la perdurante assenza da scuola.
Cinque stelle meritatissime, e tantissimi applausi a Lily e ad ogni bambina che se si sente, anche solo un pochino, come lei.

[Liz Fitzsimmons]

This was my favorite book ever as a kid. The world that is drummed up within the zoo, combined with the suspense of the trial makes for a perfect match. Even for adults, it's about an hour long read and it's just so fun. Love the format, love the illustrations, reading this book makes me feel like a kid again and again

[Hannah]

This is just as delightful as I remember it from my childhood, and it's funny to revisit it as an adult who has served as a juror on two murder trials. The Klises rock and I wish they had done about 100 books together, because they are lowkey radicalizing. Definitely going to revisit their other works now.

[Rae]

This was one of my favorite books as a kid and I still find it absolutely delightful.

[Zoem Montanez]

Absolutely underrated! I enjoyed reading this book. It reminded of Nancy Drew a lot and a touch of Roald Dahl's creativity!

[claire]

I actually really enjoyed this book. But the names were kind of annoying. Anna Conda,Leon da Vinci ha. ha. ha.

[Babs]

Easy read - funny mystery that shows how a jury trial works through journals, illustrations, newspaper articles and court documents.

[Nicole]

The way the author named the characters was awesome. I liked the story line as well.

[Jocelyn]

Fun middle grade! Cute drawings, cute premise.

[Naki]

3,5 stelline

[Kevin]

Cute book. Fun read.

[Lexi Boyer]

Read as a kid, absolutely loved it!

[Jillian]

So creative. So clever. One of my favorites as a kid and I love it still as an adult.

[Madeline Caldro]

need to reread because I remember this rocked my frickin world in the 6th grade!

[Kayla]

3,5 stelline