Monster

Rating:
Summary: Monster by Walter Dean Myers
Review: Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, is written in the unique format of a movie script from the perspective of a sixteen year old boy named Steve Harmon. Steve is accused of being the lookout during a drugstore robbery that resulted in the death of the drugstore owner. During his trial, Steve writes what's happening as a movie to keep his mind of the possibility that he might spend 25 years in prison if convicted even though he wasn't the one who pulled the trigger during the robbery. This book goes from the movie script of the trial to personal journal entries written by Steve in his jail cell. Through these jounral entries, the reader finds out how scared and confused Steve really is. He doesn't understand why he is on trial, because in his own mind, he didn't do anything wrong. The prosecutor on Steve's case wants the jury to believe that Steve is indeed guilty, even referring to him as a "monster". Steve isn't even sure that his own attorney believes in his innocence. It is left up to the reader to decide if Steve is truly guilty of this crime. Once again, Walter Dean Myers does an excellent job of showing the true consequences of bad decisions made by young teens, and I would encourage everyone to read this book!

Rating:
Summary: Monster
Review: The book "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers is an excellent book! I found the way the story was told in a movie script to be great. The story if about a teenager named Steve. Steve tells his story of his murder trial. I find the way that this movie is told as a movie script to be a great read. When I started reading this book I could not put it down. I think anyone who picks it up will enjoy reding monster

Rating:
Summary: Truth is Truth. . .Or Is It?
Review: Walter Dean Myers's award winning novel Monsters is the thought provoking story of a sixteen year old, New York City, black youth accused of murder. Main character Steve Harmon, who has been arrested and jailed for felony murder, narrates the story through journal writing and a movie script which document his jail and trial experiences. Uniquely written, Myers manages to depict Steve's thoughts and emotions through the journal writing while showing Steve's detachment from his possible role in the murder and from the court proceedings with the movie script. Combined, the journal and script transform this "monster" into a scared, young man who desperately wants to return home from the nightmare of prison.
Even as Steve's character develops, the plot raises interesting questions. The prosecution states that Steve's role, to "check out" a drug store about to be robbed by two accomplices, makes him as responsible for murder and robbery as the man who pulled the trigger. Steve never fully admits to being a part of this plan, and in court, outright denies even being at the drug store. If Steve was involved as accused and found guilty, should he spend 25 years to life in prison like the person who actually shot and robbed the storeowner? Was Steve somehow involved, but encouraged by desperation and his attorney to distort the truth? How was it that this young man came to associate with the shady characters that accuse him? Is he "guilty by association?" What situations, decisions, or circumstances have led to Steve's being tried for murder? Whatever the truth is, Steve's life will never be the same.
Remarkably, Myers is able to depict this story, involving a murder and Steve's fear in prison, with out graphic, violent details and language. Readers from middle school to adult should this an intriguing read.

Rating:
Summary: Monster
Review: The content of Monster by Walter Dean Myers is excellent. Higher order thinking skills are invoked as the reader wonders, "Was Steve in the store or not?" Myers leaves it to the reader to draw their own conclusions, even after learning the verdict of the jury. And the reader also wonders, as does Steve, what did she see?
Myers does a wonderful job evoking the sensory response from the reader. The reader feels the fear and desperation as Steve lay awake at night, listening to the sounds of the prison. Panic is portrayed as Steve sits in the courtroom, listening to the testimony against him.
The one drawback of the novel is the style of writing in the form of a movie script. To most readers, the writing carries out the theme of the novel well. But to some, it may be too involved. Some struggling readers may have problems wading through the script abbreviations and cues to get to the main plot.

Rating:
Summary: Great, but not exactly the best
Review: I liked this book, and reading it's worth anybody's time, but the quality of writing just doesn't match up to books like THE OUTSIDERS by S.E.Hinton. The main character isn't what you'd call very likable, and some of the context gets boring once in a while. Still, it shows real inner city life and prejudices that still exist today very clearly. The writing feels like Steve(the main character)is talking to you. It's worth the monwy and an excellent book, but just not at the very top.

Rating:
Summary: This Monster is Anything but Scary
Review: Monster is an excellent book about a 16-year old boy that is from New York City and is on trial for the murder of Mr. Nesbitt, a convenience store owner. His real name is Steve Harmon, but the prosecutor called him "Monster," because of what he did. He somehow got involved with the wrong crowd and got himself into trouble. In his spare time, he takes film classes, wanting to make a movie on his life.
This book makes you feel as though you are actually a part of the case. I enjoyed it because of how the book was written in a movie script form, including all the different shots and angles. Myers does a wonderful job of showing the true feelings of an inmate and what goes on in prisons. The only thing that I would rant about this book is that for some younger teens, the court dialect could be at times hard to understand when the lawyers are mentioning different laws and things. Overall, this book is excellent. Myers does a fabulous job of writing this book, and definitely knows what he is talking about. This book is a great read for anyone, but I would say it is geared towards mostly teens and young adults. This book was excellent, and just about every spare second I had to read, this was what I chose (amazingly enough, not Seventeen). I highly recommend Monster for anyone!

Rating:
Summary: Monster
Review: "Monster" is what the prosecutor, Sandra Petrocelli called 16-year-old Steve Harmon for his accused role in the tragic shooting of a convenience-store owner. But was Steve really the lookout who gave the "coasts clear" to the murderers, or was Mr. Harmon just simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? As his defense attorney, Kathy O'Brien trys to anwser this question with a simple plee "not guilty". In this innovative novel by Walter Dean Myers, the reader becomes both juror and witness during the trial of Steve's life. Steve also tends to record/jot down what events happens while in court, Myers has given the first-person voice a new twist and added yet another worthy volume to his already admirable body of work.

Rating:
Summary: Steve Harmon=Monster
Review: Strong, heavy black bars were the only thing holding Steve Harmon from interactong with the rest of the world. Now he wishes he could take back his actions and be on the other side of the bars in the book Monster by Walter Dean Myers.
Myers tells about a 16 year old high school student who lives in Manhattan and ends up in jail because he was wrongfully accused of being involved in a robbery that was also a homicide. Then he goes to the Manhattan Dentention Center and while he's there he's put through a series of trials to try and see if he's guilty or innocent. Throughout the book, Myers tells the book as if reading it from a movie script. He wrote the book in this fashion because when Steve finishes high scool he wants to be a movie producer.
I would definitely recommend this book to other readers because there is a strong sense of loneliness from Steve being locked in a cell all day and everybody thinking that you're a monster because of something that was accused on you. Also, you feel like you become Steve Harmon and feel all that he feels.

Rating:
Summary: Gripping Till the Final Sentence
Review: The book Monster is about a boy who is accused for murder along with one other, much older man, James King. During the trial you meet many interesting characters who all make it seem futile and hopeless for the falsely accused boy. He, in the book, makes a movie of his wretched experience. He also includes personal journals of how he feels during the trial. In the end the boy is not convicted and goes back to his family.
I chose this book because i was recommended by a friend and the cover was very hooking. My friend said the book was the best he'd ever read. When I heard this I went to the library and checked the book out. WHen i got it from the library I was even more intrigued by the hooking cover. It had the boys mug shot and the papers he had to sign.
I really enjoyed this book because it had many interesting plot turns and strong and interesting characters. the book was well written and very interesting. I could not put it down and found myself reading it all the time.

Rating:
Summary: Monster
Review: "Monster" is what the prosecutor called 16-year-old Steve Harmon for his supposed role in the fatal shooting of a convenience-store owner. But was Steve really the lookout who gave the "all clear" to the murderer, or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time? In this innovative novel by Walter Dean Myers, the reader becomes both juror and witness during the trial of Steve's life. To calm his nerves as he sits in the courtroom, aspiring filmmaker Steve chronicles the proceedings in movie script format. Interspersed throughout his screenplay are journal writings that provide insight into Steve's life before the murder and his feelings about being held in prison during the trial. "They take away your shoelaces and your belt so you can't kill yourself no matter how bad it is. I guess making you live is part of the punishment."
Myers, known for the inner-city classic Motown and Didi (first published in 1984), proves with Monster that he has kept up with both the struggles and the lingo of today's teens. Steve is an adolescent caught up in the violent circumstances of an adult world--a situation most teens can relate to on some level. Readers will no doubt be attracted to the novel's handwriting-style typeface, emphasis on dialogue, and fast-paced courtroom action. By weaving together Steve's journal entries and his script, Myers has given the first-person voice a new twist and added yet another worthy volume to his already admirable body of work. (Ages 12 and older) --... --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.