Monster

Monster

By: Walter Dean Myers

p. 281
Publisher Scholastic

ISBN-10: 0064407314
ISBN-13: 978-0064407311

Annotation: While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken

Summary:
Imagine you find yourself on trial for murder. What did you do to end up in such a dire situation? How could your life have gone so incredibly wrong? What if you were actually innocent and just in the wrong place at the wrong time? These are only a few of the questions that Steve Harmon asks himself. Steve an aspiring film maker, tells us his story in a style more like a film script than a novel. This literary work explores prisons and jail in ways many of us will never truly experience.

We are introduced to a world of harsh realities and cruelty. With such lines as "The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is screaming for help" we are very much aware that this is no ordinary Young Adult novel. This novel will stay with you for years to come and constantly remind you that prison is a place you never want to have to stay in.

Through this work we must explore the ideas of peer pressure, and culpability to truly understand if Steve is indeed the "monster" that everyone views him as.