Synopsis:
Monster. ISBN 0-06-440731-4. Walter Dean Myers.1999. National Book Award Finalist. Ages 13-17. African American.
Steve Harmon, a 16-year-old black man, is on trial for felony murder for allegedly being the lookout in the robbery of a drug store turned shooting of the owner, Mr. Nesbitt. The book goes back and forth between Harmon writing in his journal while in jail, to the court and jail scenes depicted by Harmon in the movie script he is writing of the trial. In the end Harmon is found not guilty but the author, Walter Dean Myers, leaves the reader to contemplate whether or not Harmon is truly involved. An emotional journey for both Harmon and his family, Monster is a realistic portrayal inside the mind of a young man mixed up in a terrible situation.
Monster could be used in a social studies or government class as a realistic study of the court/judicial system. It could also be used to stimulate discussion about law, whether certain consequences fit the crime, and the inner-workings of local jail/detention facilities.
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