Monster - Hardcover

Myers, Walter Dean

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060280778 ISBN 13: 9780060280772

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1999

Synopsis

This New York Times bestselling novel from acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers tells the story of Steve Harmon, a teenage boy in juvenile detention and on trial.

Presented as a screenplay of Steve's own imagination, and peppered with journal entries, the book shows how one single decision can change our whole lives.

Monster is a multi-award-winning, provocative coming-of-age story that was the first-ever Michael L. Printz Award recipient, an ALA Best Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor selection, and a National Book Award finalist.

Monster is now a major motion picture called All Rise and starring Jennifer Hudson, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Nas, and A$AP Rocky.

The late Walter Dean Myers was a National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, who was known for his commitment to realistically depicting kids from his hometown of Harlem.

About this title

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 form. Interspersed throughout his screenplay are journal writings that give insight to 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, 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. Even reluctant readers will no doubt be attracted to the novel's handwriting-styled type-face, 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) --Jennifer Hubert, Amazon.com

Review:

"Myers grapples with complex moral questions that will definitely make readers stop and think."-- Booklist," Editors' Choice 1999The main character is a teenage boy accused of having participated in a crime that ended in murder, but the intriguing moral questions at the root of this award-winning book cross age boundaries."-- Booklist" April 1, 2000

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0060280778
• ISBN 13: 9780060280772
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240