Week 3 Monster

Title & Author: Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Summary: At the tender age of sixteen, Steve Harmon can't believe the circumstances he finds himself in. He's in prison, facing a future no teen should face, and dealing with the fact that the prosecutor is painting him as a 'monster.' Trying to cope with his fate, he chronicles his days in court and night in lock-up in an alternating screenplay and diary format, trying to distance himself from the reality of his own life.

Reference: Myers, W. D. (1999). Monster.  New York, NY: Harper Collins.

My Impressions: I’ve been handing this book to self-proclaimed non-readers, struggling readers (mainly boys), alternative students and many others for more than ten years, and I’ve always been successful with it.  Teens have many questions about right and wrong, and no one makes them analyze the slight differences between the two more than Walter Dean Myers.  This is not a simple book with a resolution that is handed to readers, but instead one that makes them think for themselves.

Professional Review: "Myers bends the novel form for this riveting courtroom drama that explores the guilt or innocence of a teenage boy involved in a murder.”

Monster.  (2001, May 14). [Review of the book Monster by Walter Dean Myers]. Publisher’s Weekly, 248(20) 85. Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com

Library Uses: Along with books in verse such as Ellen Hopkins’ Crank and Patricia McCormick’s Sold, I would display this book “Fast Reads that Leave You Wanting More.”