Monster by Walter Dean Myers

ISBN: 978-0-06028077-2
Harper Collins, NY
1999
281 pages


Plot Summary

16-year-old Steve Harmon is in jail while awaiting his trial as an accomplice to a murder during a robbery gone bad. He is not a bad kid - has not been in trouble with the law before but it is unclear if he is completely innocent in this case. One thing is clear - the prosecutor is trying to portray him as unsympathetically as possible - she calls him a "monster."

Critical Evaluation

Exciting, fast read - excellent for reluctant readers. Steve is scared and the reader definitely feels his fear. The book is written as the screenplay of Steve's life with a mixture of fonts and illustrations and photographs - it could appear jumbled but it works.

Reader's Annotation

Is 16-year-old Steve Harmon the "monster" the prosecutor says he is or is he just a poor inner city kid who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Author Information

Walter Dean Myers is an award-winning writer of fiction, non-fiction and poetry for young people. He is a 5-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award and has had 2 Newbery Honor books (Scorpion and Somewhere in the Darkness).
He grew up in Harlem and now lives in Jersey City with his family.
Monster was illustrated by his son, Christopher Myers.

Genre

YA novel told in a first-person narrative as a screenplay/diary

Curriculum Ties

Monster is on high school reading lists

Booktalking Ideas

1. Steve and the influence his favorite teacher has on his life.

2. Steve's mother visits him in jail.

Reading Level/Interest Level

Middle School/ Middle-Senior High School

Challenge Issues and Defense

Subject matter (teen accused of murder), language

Printz Award, Coretta Scott King King Honor, National Book Award finalist

Why I Included This Book

Very well-known book and author and it was included in our controversial YA presentation.