Type of bind: Hardcover
EAN num: 9780439202183
Format: Bargain Price
ISBN number: 0439202183
Label: Amistad
Manufacturer: Amistad
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 288
Printing Date: May 31, 1999
Publishing house: Amistad
Age index: Ages 9-12
Release Date: April 21, 1999
Sale Popularity Level: 582971
Studio: Amistad
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Product Description:
Sometimes I feel like I have walked into the middle of a movie. Maybe I can make my own movie. The film will be the story of my life. No, not my life, but of this experience. I'll call it what the lady who is the prosecutor called me. MONSTER.
FADE IN: INTERIOR COURT. A guard sits at a desk behind Steve. Kathy O'Brien, Steve's lawyer, is all business as she talks to Steve.
O'BRIEN
Let me make sure you understand what's going on. Both you and this king character are on trial for felony murder. Felony Murder is as serious as it gets. . . . When you're in court, you sit there and pay attetion. You let the jury know that you think the case is a serious as they do. . . .
STEVE
You think we're going to win ?
O'BRIEN (seriously)
It probably depends on what you mean by 'win.'
Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon is on trial for murder. A Harlem drugstore owner was shot and killed in his store, and the word is that Steve served as the lookout.
Guilty or innocent, Steve becomes a pawn in the hands of 'the system,' cluttered with cynical authority figures and unscrupulous inmates, who will turn in anyone to shorten their own sentences. For the very first time, Steve is forced to think about who he is as he faces prison, where he may spend all the tomorrows of his life.
As a way of coping with the horrific events that entangle him, Steve, an amateur filmmaker, decides to transcribe his trial into a script, just like in the movies. He writes it all down, scene by scene, the story of how his whole life was turned around in an instant. But despite his efforts, reality is blurred and his vision obscured until he can no longer tell who he is or what is the truth. This compelling novel is Walter Dean Myers's writing at its best.
2000 Coretta Scott King Honor Book, 2000 Michael L. Printz Award, 1999 National Book Award Finalist, 01 Heartland Award for Excellence in YA Lit Finalist, 00-01 Tayshas High School Reading List, and 00-01 Black-Eyed Susan Award Masterlist
2000 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA), Hornbook Fanfare 2000, Michael L. Printz Award 2000, 2000 Coretta Scott King Award Author Honor Book, 2000 Quick Picks for Young Adults (Recomm. Books for Reluctant Young Readers), and 2000 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)
Amazon.com 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) --Jennifer Hubert
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Rated by buyers 
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Monster is an amazing book, because, at least for me, it transports you to a world you don't see every day. One in the courtroom, one in jail, on on the streets. The unique way it was written kept my interest, and made it feel like you were sitting right there. The dialogue was awesome, and it was all written in dialect that seemed realistic. Read this book...you will love it! Or if you don't love, you will at least be fascinated by how the main character's fear is so real, you can feel it.
Rated by buyers -
Monster is the riveting tale of a young man on trial for murder. His attorney stresses that he needs to stand out from the other thugs on trial, as he struggles with his own sense of self. Steve narrates in a unique way, a collection of train-of-though style journal writing and screen plays of the events. He builds it all into a movie in his head, and on paper to help him sort out what's going on around him.
[...]
Rated by buyers 
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"Monster" was an outstanding book and should be read by any child that is heading in the wrong direction. Over the years, there were so many students I could have recommended this book to. This story is about a grey teen and the inner city, but please do not feel this book could not help a child in the suburbs or Asian/Hispanic/White teens. The main focus of this book is to talk about the consequences any teen can face by associating themselves with the wrong people. So many teens want to be cool these days and fit in with the cool peer group. "Monster" is showing that being cool for a few moments could land you in jail for life, where you could be someone's girlfriend for the rest of your life. This book is an easy read and should not take your child or student long to read this book. The focus groups I recommend read this book are:
-Any teen heading down the wrong path
-Any teen on probation
-Any teen who has been getting into trouble at school
-Drama Club students
-Any teen wanting to fit in
-Any teen who you feel is picking the wrong people to associate with
-Film/ Media production Clubs
Rated by buyers -
"Monster the story of my miserable life." "This film will be the story of my life. No, not my life, but of this experience. I'll call it what the lady who is the prosecutor called me. MONSTER"
Monster is about a teenage boy named Steve Harmon the age of 16 who is in jail and on trial because was a part of a robbery as a look out, along with his "friends" Bobo and King. Throughout this whole book it takes place in the courtroom except for at night when Steve is writing in his journal. The robbery took place on December 22 at around 4 or 5. Two of Steve's friends Richard Evans (known as "Bobo" on the streets) and James King were the robbers in the store. As the story claims to be in court is, that while they were trying to rob the store the owner, Alguinaldo Nesbitt, pulled out a gun. As King struggles with the owner, a shot is fired.
In my opinion, I think that Walter Dean Myers has a very unique type of writing in this book. He writes the whole book in dialogue. Also, during some parts of the book he writes it in Steve's perspective of what happened during the crime scene. Last but not least, it also has the perspective of other characters and what they had done to lead up to the crime. Finally, he also shows Steve's thoughts at the end of every court day by writing it in Steve's journal.
Rated by buyers -
Synopsis
The novel begins with the main character, Steve, explaining in a journal type format, that the best time to cry is during the nighttime. Steve is in jail awaiting the outcome of his trial after being arrested for felony murder. He was allegedly involved in the murder of a local grocery store clerk. As the book progresses, it shifts between journal entries and a movie script format. As the courtroom drama unfolds other characters are introduced through the eyes of Steven and the lens of a camera.
Evaluation
The title of this book, takes its name from the word that the prosecutor calls Steve in the courtroom. Throughout the novel, the author explores the notion of identity and perception, and how others inform how one views him or herself. Steve, the main character of the book, views himself as a monster, because that is how both prosecutor and defense attorney view him. In the book, Steve is more like a character in a film, because the people he interacts with perceive him as a one-dimensional stereotype verses a complex human being. Myers uses the narrative style of the book to demonstrate this theme, as the journal entries are punctuated by dialogue and movie script formatting. While others view Steve as one-dimensional, Myers portrays all the complexities of a true character as Steve goes back and forth between acceptance and guilt. The realistic and harsh tone of the dialogue allows the reader to truly empathize with the main character in the book. The novel also raises essential questions relating to human nature, the role of the community and one's environment, and the failure of the criminal justice system. Monster was awarded the Coretta Scott King Award, the Michael L. Printz award for excellence in young adult fiction, and was a finalist for the National Book award
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