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Monster by Walter Dean Myers
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Monster (edition 2004)

by Walter Dean Myers

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5,0903502,122 (3.73)1 / 68
While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken.
Member:wagner.sarah35
Title:Monster
Authors:Walter Dean Myers
Info:Amistad (2004), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 281 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:***
Tags:young adult, prison, crime, African American, robbery, murder, screenplay, racism, 2014

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Monster by Walter Dean Myers

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» See also 68 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 349 (next | show all)
Very quick read, which was great, but it was also very interesting. The way the author set up the book was unique and although the story ended with questions left unanswered, I feel that is what makes the book special. How reliable is the narrator? What really happened? “What did she see?”... great story...probably good for late middle school early high school readers because of some of the rape mentioning a in the prison, just FYI. ( )
  jbrownleo | Mar 27, 2024 |
I enjoyed this book. I liked the journal entries better than the film script parts though. Maybe that was because I read it too fast; I don't know. But I can say I have never read a novel like this before. ( )
  Dances_with_Words | Jan 6, 2024 |
In a riveting novel from Myers (At Her Majesty’s Request, 1999, etc.), a teenager who dreams of being a filmmaker writes the story of his trial for felony murder in the form of a movie script, with journal entries after each day’s action.

Steve is accused of being an accomplice in the robbery and murder of a drug store owner. As he goes through his trial, returning each night to a prison where most nights he can hear other inmates being beaten and raped, he reviews the events leading to this point in his life. Although Steve is eventually acquitted, Myers leaves it up to readers to decide for themselves on his protagonist’s guilt or innocence.

The format of this taut and moving drama forcefully regulates the pacing; breathless, edge-of-the-seat courtroom scenes written entirely in dialogue alternate with thoughtful, introspective journal entries that offer a sense of Steve’s terror and confusion, and that deftly demonstrate Myers’s point: the road from innocence to trouble is comprised of small, almost invisible steps, each involving an experience in which a “positive moral decision” was not made. (Fiction. 12-14)

-Kirkus Review
  CDJLibrary | Nov 7, 2023 |
A glossary runs along the bottom of the pages like footnotes. Also “Before you move on”, discussion or writing or thought-provoking questions.
  VillageProject | Oct 17, 2023 |
TBR
  C_Dean | Sep 11, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 349 (next | show all)
This book was good in my opinion. There were a lot of comments on the way the book was written, but I personally enjoyed it. It was a unique format and well written. The fact that he spent lots of time in prison helps make his story seem more real.
added by m.marie.g | editMSU AdolLit, Michelle Green
 

» Add other authors (4 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Walter Dean Myersprimary authorall editionscalculated
Myers, ChristopherIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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To John Brendel for his long friendship
First words
The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help.
Quotations
I think I finally understand why there are so many fights. In here all you have going for you is the little surface stuff, how people look at you and what they say.

I am so scared. My heart is beating like crazy and I am having trouble breathing.


I want to know who I am.

...what did she see that caused her to turn away?"
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While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken.

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Average: (3.73)
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1 19
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3.5 66
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