1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Myers, Walter Dean. 1999. MONSTER. New York, NY: Harper Collins. ISBN 0060280778
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Myers, Walter Dean. 1999. MONSTER. New York, NY: Harper Collins. ISBN 0060280778
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Steve Harmon is in jail, on trial for supposedly participating in a store robbery gone wrong. Accused of being a look-out in the robbery-turned murder, Steve faces 25 years to life.
Writing from the protagonist's point of view, Myers allows us to peek inside the mind of a 16 year old who grows up overnight. The book alternates between Steve's diary and scenes from Steve's "movie" he would make about his life in the courtroom and in the prision cell.
Is Steve a monster? The jury decides...as does the reader.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Writing from the protagonist's point of view, Myers allows us to peek inside the mind of a 16 year old who grows up overnight. The book alternates between Steve's diary and scenes from Steve's "movie" he would make about his life in the courtroom and in the prision cell.
Is Steve a monster? The jury decides...as does the reader.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
From the first sentence, I was hooked: "The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help."
This book is quite readable. Although it is a seemingly big book, the writing is such that chapters fly by. Like any book, I had to get into it before I got the hang of it.
I found it interesting that Myers chose two points of view...just as there are two sides to any story. The diary writings were very personal and the reader gets more than enough information about Steve and his fears of being in jail, being on trial, and letting his family down. We also get too real insight into prison behavior.
The "film" portions of the book allowed a bit of distance between Steve and the situation he was in. The only drawback I saw in this was that I got lost a few times remembering who was who and what lawyer stood on what side. I had to keep a few notes handy...not my favorite thing to do while reading.
I thought the ending was abrupt. Before I knew it, the book was over and Steve's fate decided.
Because of the graphic material, this book does not belong in the elementary library. I would even hesitate to have middle schoolers read this. Definitely a mature read.
This has all of the characteristics of contemporary realistic fiction.
1. This book tells a story that never happened but could happen.
2. It is set in present time (contemporary).
3. It could really happen (realistic).
4. But it is still created by the author (fiction).
5. There is controvery (sexual scenes alluded to) and "problems" (effects of violence and possible jail time).
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
* Starred review from KIRKUS REVIEWS: "The format of this taut and moving drama forcefully regulates the pacing; breathless, edge-of-the-seat courtroom scenes written entirely in dialogue alternate with thoughtful, introspective journal entries that offer a sense of Steve's terror and confusion, and that deftly demonstrate Myers's point: the road from innocence to trouble is comprised of small, almost invisible steps, each involving an experience in which a 'positive moral decision' was not made."
* Starred review from BOOKLIST: "Script and journal together create a fascinating portrait of a terrified young man wrestling with his conscience. The tense drama of the courtroom scenes will enthrall readers, but it is the thorny moral questions raised in Steve's journal that will endure in readers' memories."
5. CONNECTIONS
*Propose this proposition for a class discussion: what would you do if you were put in jail prior to a trial. How would you face your family and friends? How would you deal with life inside a cell?
*You are being given a video camera to record your life. What would your life look like to others? What type of scenes would you include? Knowing that your friends would see the tape, what scenes would you delete?
This book is quite readable. Although it is a seemingly big book, the writing is such that chapters fly by. Like any book, I had to get into it before I got the hang of it.
I found it interesting that Myers chose two points of view...just as there are two sides to any story. The diary writings were very personal and the reader gets more than enough information about Steve and his fears of being in jail, being on trial, and letting his family down. We also get too real insight into prison behavior.
The "film" portions of the book allowed a bit of distance between Steve and the situation he was in. The only drawback I saw in this was that I got lost a few times remembering who was who and what lawyer stood on what side. I had to keep a few notes handy...not my favorite thing to do while reading.
I thought the ending was abrupt. Before I knew it, the book was over and Steve's fate decided.
Because of the graphic material, this book does not belong in the elementary library. I would even hesitate to have middle schoolers read this. Definitely a mature read.
This has all of the characteristics of contemporary realistic fiction.
1. This book tells a story that never happened but could happen.
2. It is set in present time (contemporary).
3. It could really happen (realistic).
4. But it is still created by the author (fiction).
5. There is controvery (sexual scenes alluded to) and "problems" (effects of violence and possible jail time).
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
* Starred review from KIRKUS REVIEWS: "The format of this taut and moving drama forcefully regulates the pacing; breathless, edge-of-the-seat courtroom scenes written entirely in dialogue alternate with thoughtful, introspective journal entries that offer a sense of Steve's terror and confusion, and that deftly demonstrate Myers's point: the road from innocence to trouble is comprised of small, almost invisible steps, each involving an experience in which a 'positive moral decision' was not made."
* Starred review from BOOKLIST: "Script and journal together create a fascinating portrait of a terrified young man wrestling with his conscience. The tense drama of the courtroom scenes will enthrall readers, but it is the thorny moral questions raised in Steve's journal that will endure in readers' memories."
5. CONNECTIONS
*Propose this proposition for a class discussion: what would you do if you were put in jail prior to a trial. How would you face your family and friends? How would you deal with life inside a cell?
*You are being given a video camera to record your life. What would your life look like to others? What type of scenes would you include? Knowing that your friends would see the tape, what scenes would you delete?
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