Monster

Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. Harper Tempest, 1999. ISBN-10: 006028077-8


Plot Summary
Steve Harmon is in jail awaiting trial for felony murder. He is 16. He is also an aspiring filmmaker. So to deal with the stress of incarceration, Steve writes down his experience as if it were a screenplay. Steve is accused of the being the look-out to a drugstore robbery that ended with the store owner killed. Steve knows the guys who were at the robbery but he claims that he wasn't involved. His defense attorney is working hard, but Steve isn't sure that she believes he's innocent. The prosecution has a lot of witnesses but they are all criminals, trying to strike a deal. Steve is never sure which way the trial will go until the verdict is announced.

Critical evaluation
Monster is full of questions that, in trying to answer, force the reader to look inward. Steve is clearly the product of a bad neighborhood- a black man in Harlem. It's no wonder that he knows thugs and drug dealers. But does living in the same neighborhood, even being friendly to criminals, make Steve as guilty as they are? The story is told as if it were a movie, directed by the book's main character and the reader is to understand that perspective- camera angles etc.- can alter the audience's view of the situation. Monster is at once the story of a teen's struggle for maturity and personal responsibility and the story of racism in the criminal justice system.

Readers Annotations
The lookout was supposed to give a sign if there were cops in the store. If he gave NO sign, that was also a sign- a sign that the store was clear. So by saying nothing, by minding his own business, is Steve guilty? This is the question that Steve's murder trial will answer.

Information About the Author
Walter Dean Myers grew up in Harlem and many of his stories take place there. He has written thirty books for young adults and has received the Coretta Scott King Award five times. In 1994, Myers was awarded the ALA's Margaret A. Edward's Award for lifetime contribution to young adult literature.

Genre
Realistic Fiction
African American Interest

Curriculum Ties


Booktalking Ideas
What makes someone guilty
How does it feel to be in prison, possibly forever?

Reading Level/Interest Age
Grade 10-12

Controversial Subject Matter and Defense of Ideas
Possible objections are the characters' references to sexual assault in prison and Steve's description of the sounds of a gang rape.

Defense: Monster is the winner of the Michael L. Printz award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. Winner of Coretta Scott King Award, which awards African American authors and illustrators whose works "promote understanding and appreciation of the culture of all peoples". Also, Monster is now required reading for many high school students.

Why Book Included
I've never read this title, although many students now read Monster in high school.