What I loved: This book was written in two specific ways: as a screenplay written by Steve (the accused) as he watches the proceedings of his own trial, and as a journal with Steve's thoughts when he is in his cell looking back at the trial and thinking of the present situation. It seemed as though I was there as a part of the trial because Steve was not actually sharing private information in his journal. The reader does not learn about the crime until we read the screenplay and the questions presented during the trial.
What I did not like: It seemed to me like the book dragged on more than it had to. I found myself bored with some passages, both screenplay and journal. I suppose it was written this way to depict an actual trial and how it seems to drag on, but it certainly wasn't a suspenseful page-turnger, which I prefer.
Recommendation: I would buy this book for my library (medium public library). ( )

The book is about a teenager name Steve who is facing murder charges.The book is written in two ways in form of a play and narrative from Steve himself.Steve believes no one believe him and he starting not believe himself.He was the look out while his friends robed the local store.If the jury finds him guilty he is facing the death penalty. ( )

Steve (voice over)

Sometimes i feel like I have walked into the middle of a movie. maybe I can make my own movie. The film will be the story of my life. No, not my life, but of this experience. I'll call it what the lady prosecuter called me....MONSTER ( )

Reviewed by Edward Sullivan in School Library Journal (July 1999). Found in Follett Titlewave.

Monster is a great read that explores mature themes such as moral equivalence and the question of guilt. Using the notebook to create a film script and then having Steve film himself from many angles after the trial shows the ambiguities of self.

I wasn’t at all distanced from the main character. The scenes with his younger brother were very humanizing, as was Mr. Sawicki’s comments about Steve’s films about his neighborhood at the trial:
“His film footage shows me what he’s seeing and, to a large extent, what he’s thinking. And what he sees, the humanity of it, speaks of a very deep character (p. 236).” All the more thought-provoking when considering Steve’s decision to go into into the drugstore.
I saw Steve as a complicated, intelligent, creative youth trying to find an identity. ( )

A young black man is put in jail for a crime in his neighborhood. As he is going through the trial he decides to write a movie about his experiences. This book is his point of view in movie form.

It is interesting to see how a young man who probably has seen a lot of crime and poverty try to deal with the crime against him. He is very confused and does not want to look weak. I liked the book because it showed a different point of view of a criminal than you usually see.

This book could be used to teach students not to judge people based on their skin color by giving an example. The book could also be used to show how a trial takes place, how the justice system works.

Reviewed by Mechele R. Dillard for TeensReadToo.com

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 ( )

From what I understand, this book is based on the true story of a young man accused of being an accomplice to a robbery and a resulting homicide. The format is fresh and invigorating, and the story is presented in a way perfectly suitable for young readers. Never does "Monster" glorify the life of crime in which this young man is involved. If anything, I think it does a good job of revealing the opposite side--the fear, mistrust, anger, hurt and loss of freedom which comes from making such mistakes. I was a little confused as to whether the main character was actually involved in the robbery or not. He says he never went in the store, yet there are surveillance cameras showing him there. I feel like the reader missed out on the full truth there. Other than that, this is a powerful message to young readers, and I plan on reading it with my students very soon. ( )

One third of the book was spent on prison rape or gang rape and how bad our justice system is. ( )

Myers, Walter Dean. Monster, New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1999.

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Theme: The story deals with a teenager who although decent is involved in a robbery where the store owner is murdered.

Reading Level: 14 +

Awards: 1999-BGHBH, NBH 2000-BBYA, CSKH, MLPA, TBYA 2002-HBF

Plot Summary:
Overall I thought the award winning book Monster was great and only regret that I was unaware of its existence before now. The format of the book was a little unsettling for me, and perhaps that was the author’s intention. It begins with first person point of view and switches back and forth throughout the novel to third person. The first person narrator is sixteen year old Steve Harmon who is in jail and being tried as an adult for felony murder. In third person Steve is writing down the events as though he were making a film about the trial. Perhaps Myers, the author, wants to create a surreal mood by switching back and forth, but I found the first person point of view interesting and the third person with film jargon annoying. Steve was a look out for a robbery at a drug store, but the assailants didn’t have a weapon. The owner pulled a gun on the would-be robbers and was killed with his own gun. Surprisingly, I found myself pulling for Steve to get off with a light sentence. Because the book which is realistic fiction deals with drugs, crime and has mild sexual content. I would agree with the recommended age on DAWCL eighth grade and older. It is an easy read, and I highly recommend it. The theme of the novel seems to be “life is full of choices; choose carefully.”

Critique:
The book fits well into the contemporary realistic fiction category as discussed in the textbook and this week’s module introduction. The issues addressed in the book are serious social issues; some of these issues include: violence, crime, juvenile delinquency, and rape. The atmosphere, dialect, characters and setting did seem real. I have taught kids who have been in similar circumstances.

Curriculum Uses: A great book for 8th or 9th grade realistic fiction because it is contemporary. ( )

Steve Harmon, an aspiring filmmaker, is in jail awaiting trial. He is accused of being the person who checked out a store for a robbery gone wrong. The robbery ended with the death of the storekeeper. He finds himself on trial for his life. As a way to cope with what is happening to him, Steve records his trial as a screenplay. He names it after what the prosecutor calls him, a Monster. There are also flashbacks of Steve's earlier life and reflections about what he is going through in jail written in a text that looks like handwriting as journal entries.
"Think about all the tomorrows of your life." (205) Although the verdict is handed down, things remain ambiguous if Steve was involved or not and how culpable he actually was with what happened. Although I don't know why he was on trial with King in the first place.
I listened to the book on tape this time around and found it well done. I read the book several years ago. Listening helped me slow down in my reading. ( )

The alternate format of Monster makes this an impossibly fast read given its almost 300 pages. That said, there is a lot going on in this book. Steve, through his screenplay, shows us an almost objective view of his court case and related flashbacks. His camera and character direction are the only things that betray his bias. This is contrasted with his handwritten journal that he keeps in prison during the trial. The raw fear that he shows in this format cannot help but to color the feeling of the clinical portrayal of the court scenes. The combination is at times chilling.

While we are limited to Steve's perspective of his trial and the events leading up to them, we can see, through him, what the people around him are thinking. This contrast between how we see Steve, frightened and trying to distance himself from the situation, and how the adults involved in his case, including his own defense attorney, see him is the main conflict of the book. This will appeal to many readers, but especially those who have been the victim of prejudices and stereotypes. Steve cannot get away from his young-black-man-from-the-hood image, even if it is placed on him rather than coming from him, which is something that many young readers can unfortunately identify with. ( )

Monster is about a Steve Harmon, a 16 year old black male that is accused for assisting in a robbery that resulted in a death of the cashier of the convenience store. He supposedly was the “lookout” to see if there were any people in the store. He and his attorney try to prove that he is not involved in this case, because if he is found guilty he will get 25 years to life in jail.
I really like the way this book is written as a movie script. Supposedly Steve is making his life into a movie. He also puts in diary entries, to give a more personal to the book. The way the author wrote the dialog makes it very easy to read, but interesting at the same time. The diary entries helped me understand what Steve Harmon was thinking throughout the whole book.
As I got half way through I started to route for Steve, hoping that the jury would find hi innocent. It was hard to route against him, even though there is specific and believable evidence against him. The author makes his personality so calm, but yet he is scared. This made me believe that he was innocent, and hoping the jury would find him innocent too.
One of the problems of this book though, is that there were not enough characters. There were plenty of minor characters, but they did not play a large role in the story. It seems like Steve was really the only character that played a large important role. Part of that was because it was written in his perspective, but he could at least have had a best friend or someone like that who was with him through the whole story. If the author did this, then I feel like the story would be more interesting.
What I don’t like about Monster is that most of the book takes place in the courtroom, making this book a little boring. There are some flashbacks to when the robbery happened and being in jail, but other than that it is all in the courtroom. I like books with some action in it, and this book just isn’t very exciting. All the reviews on the back of the book said it was a real “nail-biter” when it was not. Some might like this kind of book if they enjoy Law and Order and other court room shows and books. This just isn’t the book for me.

While it did take an adjustment to get use to the alternating prose style (narrative to screenplay back to narrative again), it was well worth it. This realistic fiction novel reads like a play due to the screenplay structure. The ambiguity of Steve's guilt lends itself to the heightened suspense. Is Steve guilty or not? I especially enjoyed the ending where things are left finished but still somewhat unresolved. I got a sense, when reading this novel that Myers wrote this novel from a realistic point of view. The characters are not perfect and are not people that you even particular like, even Steve. Well worth the read. ( )

Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon, who wants to be a filmmaker, finds his life turned upside-down when he is accused of acting as a lookout for the robbery of a Harlem drugstore where the owner winds up dead. He is on trial for felony murder which, as his defense attorney puts it, is “as serious as it gets.” Steve feels as if he’s in a movie, so he decides to describe this experience in the form of a script, and to call it the same thing the prosecutor calls Steve: “Monster.”

Full review:
http://www.twentybyjenny.com/teenBook... ( )

So good and so different! This book would be perfect for teaching visualization. Movies are typically more accessible to students, so to write a book in such a way that allows the reader to see it as a movie is genius! Although parts of it read as a play, it so different from picking up Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, for example.
This book is direct and indirect at the same time, leaving some room for interpretation. It is a quick read with a lot of space on the page (which is always a turn on for reluctant readers).
The narrator is very honest; perfect for any young person trying to enter gang life.

Combines screenplay and hand-written journal format to tell a very believable story about a young man on trial for a murder that occurred during a robbery that he was part of. Great choice for high school readers, and because it's written simply, would be fine for reluctant readers ( )

A young man is on trial for the murder of a store owner. He decides that he will create a movie of his experiences and envisions each prison and trial event as if it’s a scene in that movie. The text is very unique for a young adult novel because it’s been written as if it’s a movie script including camera angle suggestions. It takes some getting used to, but eventually the reader can catch the rhythm. The book is appropriate for late middle to high school readers. ( )

This book is about sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon who is on trial as an accomplice to a murder. In this book, 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.
This book appeals to older students who like realistic fiction and stories involving street-life. The themes are trials, prison, self-perception, and African Americans. The text is easy to follow and looks like a journal with shadowed edges, grabbing the readers’ interest.

A notable book award finalist, Monster is presented in a variety of text styles throughout the story. A large part is presented as a movie script, with each character's part highlighted. The idea is that much of the story is a dialogue of an interrogation taking place. A kid is murdered and the authorities are trying to piece together what happened. The other text style that is presented, is the main character's journaling, as he is the accused. A suspenseful story, written to capture the elements of popular culture and the feel of an intercity setting. A read that could draw in reluctant readers and those attracted to dramatic stories.

For the most part, this story is about what happens in the courtroom in a murder trial. Steve Harmon, a sixteen year-old African American is implicated in a murder case. Of the four people involved, he is alleged to have shot and killed the storeowner in a robbery. He is so terrified of what he sees in jail during his trial that he writes a movie script...the details of his trial... to keep his sanity. The word "monster" sticks to his head as prosecutor Petrocelli refers to people who steal and kill. Is he guilty or not? What did his defense attorney Kathy O'Brien see in him after the trial? Why did she turn away? I was compelled to keep reading to find out if the plot turns out for better or worse for Steve in the next scene. I would have liked the author to give the reader glimpses into Steve's thoughts about his guilt or innocence. This book is appropriate for high schoolers who are curious about people their age who live in poor urban areas and are exposed to gangs and crimes. ( )

I found this book to be intriguing and entertaining. I especially like how it's written in the form of a screen play since this is the main character's (Steve's) way of dealing with the stress of being charged for felony-murder. It brings a lot of discussion into play. The reader's opinion of Steve (guilty/not guilty) can change thoughout the story. I believe this book would appel to most students living in urban setting. Many young minorities would also be able to identify with the book.

A book full of truth, "Monster" was enjoyable, but not satisfying enough. It leaves a question in your mind, however - did he or didn't he? An okay book. ( )

A very raw story about a teen on trial for murder told in a very unusual format. ( )