Book 7

Myers, W. D. (1999). Monster. NY: Harper.

Summary of the book:

In the introduction of this book, Monster, aka Steve Harmon offers a glimpse into his mindset of what he is experiencing in prison. Steve Harmon is a sixteen year old boy, who is on trial for felony murder, along with three other suspects, James King, Richard “Bobo” Evans and Osvaldo Cruz. The setting of the story is the Manhattan Detention Center. His defense attorney “with doubts” Kathy O’Brien doesn’t seem too keen on Steve, she appears to be all business and is focused on providing equal justice. The store owner who was killed was named Alguinaldo Nesbitt, the plan was a robbery not a murder. Steve is being accused of being a lookout in this case, his attorney is trying to create reasonable doubt to prove that he is innocent. At the end of the trial, King is found guilty of murder and Steve Harmon is found innocent and released.  

Response:

The fusion of diary writing and the script are an interesting combination for the reader. The story can appeal to young adults, especially males because of the format it is written in, it makes it easier to gravitate to it. The conversational tone of the diary entries capture the reader’s attention and while the movie script adds a different element to the novel’s outlook. The perception of the reader also comes into play when determining if they agree with the verdict of innocence that the jury provides. This book is realistic fiction, and the targeted audience is ages 12-18 years old. The textbook connection would be “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas.  

Links and URLs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtlkXnf3-vY background information and author talks about the book

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc6d_YNPZ9I summary of book.