Monster is not only the name of this realistic, coming of age story by Walter Dean Myers, but what the woman prosecuting Steve Harmon for felony murder calls him. He has been arrested and is being tried for the murder of a drug store owner; killed during a robbery. Was he the lookout for the "crew" responsible for the robbery and murder or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time? It really doesn't matter at his trial; what matters is whether the jury sees him as a monster or not.In the meantime, Steve is living in fear. He is in jail pending the outcome of his trial and is afraid of both the constant violence of the jail and that he will be found guilty and locked up for 25 years to life. In an effort to make sense of what is happening, he writes the events of this experience as a movie script. The story is told through his script.
I was quite engaged by this book and I believe junior and senior high students will be too. I especially liked that I was unable to predict the outcome of the trial and that it felt real, with loose ends that were not neatly tied up for the ending. I also liked that the story included details that showed that although Steve and his family are consumed by the trial and its outcome, it is just another case to the lawyers, judge and court personnel.
Monster won the Michael L. Printz Award for Young Adult Literature in 2000 and was a Coretta Scott King honor book and a National Book Award finalist. I would recommend this book to all young adult readers, including reluctant readers. I believe that Steve and his sense of helplessness and dread will engage both boys and girls and that the style of writing, with short sentences and dialog makes it easy to read. There could be some difficulty understanding the camera directions, but they are not critical to understanding the story.
The first line of the book is attention grabbing and would be a great Book Talk "hook". It is:
"The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and is screaming for help."
This sounds as if it is an interesting book. Is the whole book written as a movie script? If so, I wonder if author Dean Myers is being creative or hoping that Hollywood will take notice? I look forward to reading this.
ReplyDeleteQuestion - is there much offensive language in this book? I would imagine that Steve Harmon had a very rough upbringing and that swearing and slang would be part of his everyday language.
Sounds chilling, and also very compelling. I read Sunrise Over Fallujah by WDM and it was also very realistic and complex. I've picked up Monster a few times and thought it seemed heartbreaking so put it down. I'm sure I should read it!
ReplyDeleteI almost chose this book to read. I looked at it and sadly picked up a large print edition that I found difficult to read. Your comments make me want to give it a second try. I do wonder how students will react to the movie script format. It might be a good idea to teach the basic elements of a movie script to prepare the reader. Good blog!
ReplyDeleteI thought your hook was compelling! It certainly grabbed my attention. Did you like reading it in movie script format? I think I would like to read a book in that format. I just read a novel of poems for the first time and really enjoyed exploring a new area of literature!
ReplyDeleteMany are commenting on the movie script format. I think for young adults that it would be more compelling to them. A different style that would be more appealing to them? Thanks for not giving to much of the book away, this is my fear when writing my blogs, now I feel like I did not write nearly enough.
ReplyDeleteThe book is primarily written as a movie script, interspersed with entries of Steve's thoughts & feelings similar to journal entries. The language in the book is not generally offensive but there is general reference to a sexual attack in the prison as well as at least one instance of using derogatory language in reference to homosexuals. Although Steve does have contact with gang members and a rough crowd in his neighborhood, he is a good student and seems to have a stable home life. The movie script format was interesting although I wish there was a glossary of terms, because most of the direction was abbreviated.
ReplyDeleteGreat hook!
ReplyDeleteWalter Dean Myers is a very significant author for teens. An older title that I always liked is Scorpion (Newbery Honor 1989). It is for middle school and tells the story of the younger brother of a gang leader who is sent to prison. Jamal's life is changed forever when he accepts a gun - this book is realistic and very sad.
That first line of the book is really powerful. I think that need to read about things like this, especially where there is a lot of problems. The book could give young adults a perspective on what could happen to them if they break the law and hopefully persuading them not to do those things. Many times, a child, especially a teenager, child can't be told what to do. They have to experience it. Books are a great way for them to do that. They can read about it and experience it that way without having to be right there.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, and I think you can really see the value of a story being told from this perspective, showing what life is like for someone in the court system and penal system, the difficulties associated with. It asks a lot of questions that they might not immediately think to ask on their own.
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