Author: Walter Dean Myers
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 1999
ISBN: 9780060280772
Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 7-12
Genre: Issues--Crime and Legal Issues
Reader’s Annotation: Sixteen-year-old Steve tells the story of his murder trial through diary entries and a screenplay.
Plot Summary
Steve Harmon begins his journal in prison just before his felony murder trial is set to start. He describes the horror and fear he feels, and realizes that in order to survive it he will have to “give up” what he perceives as real and “take up something else.” He decides to do this by writing a screenplay about his experiences in prison and on trial. His movie also shows some of the backstory of how Steve became involved in the burglary that led to a murder, though what exactly he agreed to do and why are left ambiguous. The trial (which also involves another defendant, the one whose struggle with the store owner killed him) proceeds with testimony from an employee of the robbed store, a prisoner looking to cut a deal, and two other burglary participants. Along the way Steve includes conversations with his lawyer and his parents that reveal that even the people who are on Steve’s side have doubts about his innocence. Also important to the story is the prosecutor, whose primary strategy is to paint Steve and the other defendant as monsters.
Critical Evaluation
I read Monster immediately after Wintergirls, which I think diminished my enjoyment of it. Both books are about teens in horrifying situations, but Anderson is much more successful at showing Lia’s fear and dread than Myers, who mostly tells the reader how scared Steve is. Myers’s writing style is no-frills direct while Anderson’s is lyrical. Wintergirls has several compelling characters, but in Monster only Steve gets depth and complexity. I believe Myers did this purposely. Steve tells his story both through his journal entries and his movie, of which he is the star. Exploring his own character and trying to understand who he is are the goals of Steve’s writing. The self-centeredness this shows, so typical of teens, is probably also part of how Steve got into trouble in the first place. The unusual form of the novel allows Steve (and the reader) to examine himself from more than one angle. The journal entries are very personal, but the movie helps him step back to see other people’s perspectives on him. It also chillingly shows how impersonal the system is. Guards talk and laugh while Steve sits handcuffed to a bench, waiting to go into the courtroom. The prosecutor paints Steve as a monster, though she doesn’t know him at all. Violence in the prison is ever-present and seemingly arbitrary. This book deals with many thought-provoking themes, including juvenile justice, race, and guilt, that will make it a great catalyst for classroom discussion.
Curriculum Ties: Social studies--juvenile incarceration, race
Booktalking Ideas: Give a profile of Steve--his age, race, family, friends, school, hobbies. Explain how he came to be on trial for murder..
Challenge Issues: Mild language and violence
In the defense file, I will include my library's selection policy, ALA's Library Bill of Rights, ALA's guidelines on free access to libraries for minors (http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/freeaccesslibraries.cfm), and ALA's strategies and tips for dealing with challenges to library materials (http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/copingwithchallenges/strategiestips/index.cfm). I will also include my library's reconsideration form, in case challenges to this book cannot be defused with "tea and sympathy." I'll put in reviews from Booklist, Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, School Library Journal, and VOYA.
About the Author
I was born on a Thursday, the 12th of August, 1937, in Martinsburg, West Virginia. My name at birth was Walter Milton Myers. For some strange reason I was given to a man named Herbert Dean who lived in Harlem. I consider it strange because I don't know why I was given away.
I was raised in Harlem by Herbert and his wife, Florence. Herbert was African American. Florence was German and Native American and wonderful and loved me very much.
As a child my life centered around the neighborhood and the church. The neighborhood protected me and the church guided me. I resisted as much as I could.
I was smart (all kids are smart) but didn't do that well in school.
I dropped out of high school (although now Stuyvesant High claims me as a graduate) and joined the army on my 17th birthday.
Basketball has always been a passion of mine. Sometimes at night I lie in bed thinking about games I've played. Sometimes I think about what would have happened if I had gone into the NBA (I was never good enough) or college ball.
Anyway.... I wrote well in high school and a teacher (bless her!) recognized this and also knew I was going to drop out. She advised me to keep on writing no matter what happened to me.
"It's what you do," she said.
I didn't know exactly what that meant but, years later, working on a construction job in New York, I remembered her words. I began writing at night and eventually began writing about the most difficult period of my own life, the teen years. That's what I do.
http://www.walterdeanmyers.net/bio.html
Why is this title included?
Monster has won a host of awards and appeared on numerous lists, including: Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 1999; YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2000; YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 2000; Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 1999 Honor Book; Coretta Scott King Book Award, 2000 Honor Book; Los Angeles Times Book Prize, 1999, Finalist; Michael L. Printz Award, 2000 Winner.