Product Description

A shopkeeper is murdered during an armed robbery in New York. Sixteen year old Steve Harmon is arrested and the prosecutor is pushing for the death penalty. The only way Steve can cope with the terrifying ordeal of the trial is to tell it as a film script, with flashbacks to the events leading up to the robbery. His diary records the brutality of his time in jail and his growing confusion about his own identity. Who is the real Steve Harmon? Is he guilty or innocent?

Monster is a gripping story of crime, truth and responsibility by one of America's best award-winning writers of young adult fiction.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #448894 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 281 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
"Monster" is what the prosecutor called 16-year-old Steve Harmon for his supposed role in the fatal shooting of a convenience store owner. But was Steve really the lookout who gave the "all-clear" to the murderer, or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time? In this innovative novel by Walter Dean Myers, the reader becomes both juror and witness during the trial of Steve's life. To calm his nerves as he sits in the courtroom, aspiring filmmaker Steve chronicles the proceedings in movie script form. Interspersed throughout his screenplay are journal writings that give insight to Steve's life before the murder and his feelings about being held in prison during the trial. "They take away your shoelaces and your belt so you can't kill yourself no matter how bad it is. I guess making you live is part of the punishment."

Myers, known for the inner-city classic Motown and Didi, proves with Monster that he has kept up with both the struggles and the lingo of today's teens. Steve is an adolescent caught up in the violent circumstances of an adult world--a situation most teens can relate to on some level. Even reluctant readers will no doubt be attracted to the novel's handwriting-styled type-face, emphasis on dialogue, and fast-paced courtroom action. By weaving together Steve's journal entries and his script, Myers has given the first person voice a new twist and added yet another worthy volume to his already admirable body of work. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert, Amazon.com

Excerpted from Monster by Walter Dean Myers. Copyright © 2000. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
Sometimes I feel like I've walked into the middle of a movie. Maybe I can make my own movie. The film would be the story of my life. No, not of my life, but of this experience. I'll call it what the lady who is the prosecutor called me ... Monster.

Customer Reviews

Monster
Monster

The novel Monster written by Walter Dean Myers is about a sixteen years old black boy named Steve Harmon who lives in Harlem and is on trial for murder.
Steves loves filmmaking and that's why he turns his trial which lasts eleven days long in the youth detention centre in Manhattan into a screenplay.
The days in the courtroom and in the prison pester him till the judge delivers the judgement for Steve and the other persons who are involved in the crime and Steve's verdict is incomprehensible for everybody.
This novel is very exciting, extraordinary and well written. It's written in a way that's very easy to understand and to comprehend.I advise everybody to read this works.

Weird style, but good.
Walter Dean Myers Monster" Is about an afro-american youngster, who is put into jail for a murder he hasn't commited. The book describes his feelings and experiences he has in the time of trial and how he sees the other prisoners. The change he makes through the book is described by his actions and feelings.
The book isn't easy to read, because it has many style changes, from diary entries to film scripts and dialogues. This is sometimes confusing, but you can understand it most of the time.
The intention of the book is, that Steve has to decide, whether what he has done and to take over the responsibility for this. I think, the author wants to criticize the american judical system with this book and the story of Steve, because he is caught in the system, although he just acted as a lookout and didn't commit the murder. This shows, that you can be caught with some false proofs and that you can easily get into jail in the place of another person.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Sixteen-year-old Steve is on trial for murder. But he's having trouble understanding why. "What did I do? I walked into a drugstore to look for some mints, and then I walked out. What was wrong with that? I didn't kill Mr. Nesbitt" (p. 140). Nothing is wrong with that, of course--unless the purpose of that casual trip was to give the "all clear" for a robbery that ended in the murder of the store's owner. Then, something is very wrong.

By structuring the book as a movie script being written by the character as he spends his days in prison, faces his jury, prepares with his lawyer, confronts his mother and father, and, most importantly, examines his own life, Myers presents Steve as a talented young man who may have made a single poor choice. However, Myers retains conflict necessary for
building a compelling storyline by having Steve refuse to acknowledge his part in Mr. Nesbitt's death. The result is that the reader wants to sympathize with the teen, but cannot help but wonder, if Steve truly does not understand why what he did was wrong, what is going to keep him from going astray in the future? Maybe, as the prosecutor stated, Steve really is a monster.

Overall, MONSTER sends an excellent message to young adults: You, and only you, are responsible for the choices you make, and the consequences for those choices may ultimately affect not only the rest of your life, but the lives of the people around you--and maybe those you do not even know. Therefore, think about what you are doing, consider the
consequences of your actions, and choose wisely.

Boston Globe--Horn Book Awards, Honor Book,1999

Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Young Adult Fiction, Finalist 1999

Coretta Scott King Awards, Honor Book, 2000

Edgar Allan Poe Awards, Nominee, Best Young Adult Novel, 2000

Michael L. Printz Award, Winner, 2000

Kentucky Bluegrass Award, Grades 9-12, Winner, 2002

Reviewed by: Mechele R. Dillard