Monster

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Summary: Ben's Review
Review: "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers, is a book that goes into the heart of a teenager charged with felony murder, for something he claims he did not do. The book is set in Harlem, NY and it's content is that of a urban, diverse and ghetto inspired dialogue. It tells the story of Steve Harmon, teenager charged w/ felony murder, through a very interesting yet attention grabbing way, through a trial setting. This technique, although hard to acquaint yourself with at first, is the perfect way to tell such a story. This is because by telling the story through a trial setting the reader can really get a feel for whether or not they believe Steve Harmon is guilty or not.
The story is fast paced and attention grabbing without really having any lagging parts to it, which is a definite plus for someone who loses interests quickly in books. I think the reading level was not that challenging but it was not to the point where an adult would think it as a childish read. I enjoyed this book very much for all the twists and turns and for the exquisite use of flashbacks and characters. The characters of this book really go to make the story. Without them, the book would not be so attention grabbing and definitely not as interesting.

Rating:
Summary: good book!
Review: I thought Monster was a good book. A little long however. I would reccomend this to anybody who is interested in law and such. They'll love it

Rating:
Summary: "Monster"
Review: "Monster" is a story os a 16 years old boy,his name is Stebe Harmon who is on trial for muder. it's about him writting a cript of his court hearing and time in jail. He named his story monster because that's what the persecutor called him.

Steve was an ordinary kid who lived in New York City until one night he decided to be a lookout in a crime where a man was killed.

It's shows what happend during the robbery after the robbery and every time in between, also shows you every though and hopes that goes thought Steve's mind.

Finally, O' Brien try real hard and Steve was declared inocent.

I thing this its a real good book, because it atraps your attention, and you want to know what really happend and if he will be going out.

Rating:
Summary: "Monster" review
Review: The plot that unfolds in the novel, "Monster" is clear and believable. It allows the reader to understand the process of a trial and the feelings of the people who are involved with it. The story did not start to soon. Although there was not much background information when it started out, Walter Dean Myers used flashbacks as the story progressed so that we could better understand Steve Harmon's life before the crime. When the verdict was read, Steve was extremely relieved that he did not have to live out the remainder of his life behind bars. I think this experience taught him a very important lesson about life, and he has become a better person because of it. The use of subplots in Monster were helpful because they explained the situation that Steve was in more in depth. The story does maintain your attention, because you always find yourself wanting to keep reading so that you can find out what happens next. The story moved at a fine pace. It was not rushed, but it was fast enough so that the reader would not become bored or uninterested. The pace does match the genre of the story in a sense that it helps it to play out more like a movie and less like a novel. The story kind of jumps around setting wise, but it still allows the reader to draw a mental picture as to where the story is taking place. The descriptions of the setting ran on all at once. I think Myers introduced the reader to the setting at the beginning of the novel so that it would be more easily followed, rather than having the setting unfold over time. The characters, their actions, and the time frame do agree. The colloquial expressions that were used throughout the novel fit the characters and their actions. It gave the reader a look into the life of juvenile delinquents living in Harlem. The order of events are as consistent as a trial can be. Myers use of flashbacks creates a more choppy order of events. The characters are real in the sense that they are experiencing the downfalls of their actions, however, they do promote a stereotype of minorities growing up in Harlem. The character's actions are consistent throughout the story. Steve Harmon maintains his innocence, whereas Osvaldo, Bobo, and King give the reader the impression that they will never turn their lives around by portraying them as your typical "tough guy." The protagonist, Steve, changes in many ways throughout the story. He is very frightened when he is in jail, but he has hopes of getting out. As the plot thickens his hopes turn into doubts and he wonders if killing himself would be better than living his life in jail. However towards the end, he keeps a positive outlook throughout the trial which in turn grants him his innocence. Steve Harmon's background is given to the reader in small manageable, however he is the only character Myers chose to give a background to. The language matches the time perfectly. The use of jargon creates a tone for the time and place described in the novel. There is very minimal profanity, a good use of accents, and overall, the dialogue makes the novel more interesting and believable. Being as most of the characters are from New York, they all possess the same pattern of speech, however there is a difference between the speech of the adults (more proper) and the speech of the children (more jargon). The dialogue does match the conflicts in the novel. The reader can distinguish each emotion just by reading the different dialogue usage. The novel stays with one point of view, third person omniscient, making the novel more exciting and believable.

Rating:
Summary: Gotta Read /Monster
Review: The book Monster is about Steve, a teenager who gets wrapped up in some bad stuff. I thought this book was very good. This book was good because it had actually taken place in a jail. I thoguht that was neat because I have never read a book like this before. This book also takes place in the point of view of a movie. This gives excellent visuals. Some bad things about MOnster are how the book is written. It makes you look weird because the words are spaced out and seems easy. This book also took along time to find out who was guilty ohe crime committed. I didn't like it because it held me up in suspence for too long. Some other good things about this book are, the way the main character, Steve, writes a journal and it is put in the book. The way the imates are discribed is also excellent. The front cover of the book is very interesting. The title Monster and the picture of Steve makes you wonder why it is called Monster. When the characters are in court it feels like you are in the room with them. The way the book uses its vocabulary is also nicley done. If I were to rate this book I would give it a four stars out of five. My reasons for this are all listed above. You should read this book if you like court,suspence, and actioned books. I haven't read any other books by this author,nor do I like to read but this book was thrilling.

Rating:
Summary: Good writing style
Review: Monster was a fairly good book. While the plot was clear and believable, there are some background problems. It is somewhat confusing when you first start reading it and you don't know what's going on. The author gave small doses of background, which was helpful, in the form of flashbacks, and these help to advance the story. The book Monster was a very fast paced book that kept my attention well, especially during court scenes where you could get the feel of a real courtroom. The pace was perfect for the court room drama genre the book fit into. This story makes the reader feel like maybe they are there in the courtroom with the main character, Steve Harmon. The author does a good job of laying out the settings one-by-one. The events and time period fit well together. Another good thing about this book was the reality of the character. The reader gets a feeling that Steve Harmon could really exist, because he wasn't too perfect, yet he wasn't bad in a way that all readers couldn't understand or relate to. Some of the other characters were a little harder to believe. Even so, the characters actions and words all fit their characters well. One thing about the characters is that Steve is not explained to us very quickly, which made it hard for me to determine what I felt about him and his involvement in the crime he was on trial for. The dialogue of Monster fit it well. The word usage and slang terms fit into the setting and time period of the book. Once one gets into the story and starts to understand, the book gets better. It isn't too confusing after you have read some because you get a better grasp of what's going on. One can only wish that they might have learned some of the background and personality details a little earlier.

Rating:
Summary: Monster
Review: Monster is a very well written novel, but I did not enjoy reading it very much. The plot is believable, but not fully clear. Readers know exactly what happened involving the felony murder, including where it happened, when, and why. The only thing readers don't know is whether or not Steve really did act as a lookout or not. The story did not really maintain my attention, but it did move fairly quickly. I just did not find the story very interesting, and I didn't like the format it is in. The pacing of the story did match the genre of the story. The setting of this story is practically perfect. Readers are definitely transported to the time and place where this is all happening, and that is mainly in part to the play format of the novel. The order of events is very consistent. I think the characters lack personality; they all seem to promote a stereotype. I think that's what made the story boring for me. Steve's character was the most interesting, but even still I think he needed a lot more development. His background was given to readers in small pieces, and I found that very ineffective. I didn't have any dialogue issues, although everyone seemed the same. I kept hearing the same monotone voice for all of the characters. That took away a lot from the characters. I found the point of view to be very effective. It did not make the story confusing at all.

Rating:
Summary: monster
Review: I review this book as a great bbook cause the book leaves you in alot of susspense and the book is very intersesting and then the book is very good it like a true story.

Rating:
Summary: Monster Review
Review: The book Monster is a different book. It is about a 16 year old boy who is convicted of murder. Myers writes this book in a very different style of writing. I think by him writing in a "film/movie" it attracts the readers more and makes the reader more interested in the book, especially teenagers. I really enjoyed the book from beginning to end. It was a page turner book, I never wanted to put it down. The ending was great and very surprising.

Rating:
Summary: Monster by Myers
Review: Monster by Myers was a good book that I read during a Young Adult Literature course.It is about Steve Harmon and his struggle to be found inocent in a hopeless looking case. Myers does a good job making voices for each of the characters in this script like novel. In this novel, there are many characters to keep track of but once you read their parts, you will create a voice and a look, despit little description of looks, for them in your head. All the characters are important to the story and the script like formant allows the reader to get the real fact about the trial, not just skewed opinions from one point of view. Readers will also find themselves emotionally involved with Steve Harmon, the main character, and will be routing for him through out the book, wanting and hoping that he will overcome and succeed. The plot of the trial is a believable one, with two black man, one young and one cruel, being accused of robbery and murder. This may sound to you as stereotypical story which had me thinking throughtout the book that the outcome of Steve would be much different then the actual end of the novel. The story moves fast and will keep your attention until the end.