![]() Steve is sixteen years old and on trial for murder. Perhaps to even form a habit of reflecting, of seriously thinking about what's important, before trouble demands it. It's a story of reflection, of questions.Īnd it seems to me, the novel's value is in getting readers, especially (but not only) young adults, to reflect. Rather, this is a story of lost innocence. Yes, it relevantly takes a social climate into account, but it isn't merely using that to spin a drama together, nor is it just a ride or a race to figure out whodunit. It may be easy to string together a bunch of clichés concerning a hot button topic, to insert them into a predictable plot, and then-BAM!-you've got a novel about a hot social " issue." That immediately got my attention when I picked up this YA book on an impulse.īut what I came to appreciate most about the story? It didn't turn out to be the oversimple tale it could have been. ![]() As a high school student with an interest in filmmaking, Steve records his time in jail and in the courtroom in the form of a screenplay, titling it what the prosecutor called him: Monster by author Walter Dean Myers.Ĭount this as the only time I've ever read a novel written as a movie. ![]() What else do they need to know?Īt sixteen years old, Steve Harmon is on trial as an accomplice to a murder. You're young, you're Black, and you're on trial. If you are looking for a book that will make you think, and for a Printz winner, definitely check out Monster by Walter Dean Myers.Half of those jurors.believed you were guilty the moment they laid eyes on you. But, really, I don’t know anyone who makes perfect decisions every single time. I mean, Steve absolutely does make a couple of bad decisions. All you have is evidence and each person’s story. I did like that he left it so the reader could decide and work it out. I will say, I had my mind made up one way, and it stayed that way. He never actually comes right out and says whether or not Steve was completely innocent and not complicit at all. We see that perhaps Steve is not quite so perfect after all. Then, of course, Walter Dean Myers tosses in a bit of moral ambiguity. Couldn’t that be a form of other-ing? Of dehumanizing PoC? I am absolutely thinking and questioning. I mean, take this book in a deeper context. Are we too quick to throw people in jail and throw away the key? Especially if the supposed perpetrator is young, black, and poor? AKA, what society deems as dangerous. I will go out on a limb here and say, it is not because people of color commit more crimes than white people, however, that is research you can do on your own time. Right now, there is a disproportionate number of people of color incarcerated. I mean, I can remember becoming very angry with the prosecution. It seems that he is largely in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yet, as we get to know Steve, we see is more than that. In the eyes of judicial system, Steve is considered a monster, largely because he is young and black. 16Īstonishingly, I picked up on the social commentary within this book. “My job is to make sure the law works for you as well as against you, and to make you a human being in the eyes of the jury.” pg. I thought this was well played on Myers’ part. It was sort of as though Steve could not handle the reality. Steve sees his entire trial as a movie script. Instead of being typical prose, we have this whole new, at least to me, way of engaging with the character and getting into his head. I like that Walter Dean Myers played with form. Monster takes on a rather unique format as it is written in screenplay form. ![]() The plot of Monster by Walter Dean Myers centers around fifteen year old Steve Harmon, a black teen on trial for complicity in murder. Seriously, I often see his books, own a few of his books, but never really felt pushed into reading them. What a great way to become acquainted with the work of WDM. Monster by Walter Dean Myers was the first Walter Dean Myers book I have read, and it certainly will not be the last. ![]() I'll call it what the lady prosecutor called me. Presented as a screenplay of Steve's own imagination, and peppered with journal entries, the book shows how one single decision can change our whole lives.Fade In: Interior: Early Morning In Cell Block D, Manhattan Detention Center.Steve (Voice-Over)Sometimes I feel like I have walked into the middle of a movie. This New York Times bestselling novel and National Book Award nominee from acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers tells the story of Steve Harmon, a teenage boy in juvenile detention and on trial. Genres: Peer Pressure, Prejudice & Racism, Social Issues, Violence, Young Adult Also by this author: Kick, Carmen, All the Right Stuff, Sunrise Over Fallujah, Juba!, Monster: A Graphic Novel, Darius & Twig ![]()
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