Monster

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Summary: MONSTER
Review: There was a boy name Steve Harmon that was at the wrrong place at the wrong time. And it went bad for him and now most likely he's looking at spending the rest of his life in prison. Steve is young he's only sixteen years old and scare just like any young one would. This boy is beeing accuse of murder and upset because he said it wasn't him.
Well everything started like this; Nesbitt Alguinaldo's store was robbed and on top of this horrible experience that he went through, he also got shot and murder and now the police officers are accusing Steve Harmon and James King as suspects for felony murder. Witnesses describe Steve's appearance perfectly and james as well. Jose saw the person running out of the store; Jose is the person that takes over the store after Alguinaldo's shift is over, I guess that's how they figure that steve was the murderer.
Now layers are invove everyone is in trail struggling to get out of this nightmare. Steve just can't believe what's happening to him that he thought that he was watching a movie and that he was the main character, its offal what he's going through and the more court dates they gave the more he thought does days of seeing the light would end. O'Brian was struggling to win the case and everyone praying for Steve specially his little brother because he got much love for him, and kind of sad knowing that his hero is going to jail.
The moment of truth came hardly no one believe in Steve any more family was disapointed cause of the crime he did and people think he did it only because of the people he hang out with, in reality that doesn't matter; and625 so this is what happen he wanted to know the panic that he took and also wanted to see himself a thousand time to look for his true image. O'Brian just looked at him and was looking at a innocent man.

Rating:
Summary: Is Steve Harmon a Monster?
Review: When I first began reading the book, Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, it was a little confusing because of the format. After about the first ten pages of the book, I became hooked!!! I simply couldn't put it down....In fact, I read it in about 4 hours!!!! The book always kept me interested and I wanted to hurry and get to the end..... I really found the main character--Steve Harmon an amazing character. He is not like any of the teenagers from the small community where I live, but I can really see him as a teenager in New York. This book doesn't just tell about Steve Harmon's problem with the law, but it has a deeper meaning of love and family!!!

I would recommend this book to any young adult in the age range of 13-18--or even older. I teach seventh grade Language Arts and Reading and I plan--in the near future--to have my students read this book!!

Rating:
Summary: Rollercoaster
Review: Walter Dean Myers' book Monster is a virtual roller coaster that keeps you guessing till the end. It spins you around, changing your opinion of Steve with every turn. Myers leads you through a maze of twists and turns on the way to finding out if Steve was connected to the robbery of a Harlem drugstore, which left a man dead. While in jail for the crime, Steve sits alone waiting for his trail. Steve writes down his experiences as a script for a movie. In the book, Myers tries to distinguish Steve from the crime by changing his writing style from a movie script (crime) to journal form (Steve). It has exiting courtroom scenes and views into the life of a kid facing life in prison. It is a must read that only comes around once.

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Summary: Hernandez C Scott8
Review: When I started to read "Monster" i was confused by the way it was written. It took me like the first 3 pages to get used to the format. Once i started to read the i book i couldnt put it down. The book is about a 16 year old boy was convicted of murder. Steve could be sent to prison from 25 years to life. Steve tells the whole court room that he was set up, but the jury would not believe him. Inside the prison the people around him tell him that theres no way he can win. Before the trial Steve been hanging around some bad guys. He hanged around with two guys by the name of James King and Bobo Evans. Steve was the youngest of all. The two bad guys had been planning a robbery. The two guys walked into the store the we're going to rub. They though they were clear, when Steve gave them a sign. The guys had a struggle with the store owner and a gun was pulled out and the owner got shot. Evans and King got what they wanted and left like nothing happened. The trial was a long and complicated. Throughout the story, Steve learns things, he learns to be persistent, and he learns to be honest. In the end, Steve came out a much better person.

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.

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Summary: Young Adult Literature Review
Review: To start off the novel overall was great. The way that Monster is written gives the reader a little challenge. The novel goes back and forth from what seems like a young boys diary to a screen play that is being told throughout the novel. The characters are like normal everyday people, which gives the book its reality factor. There isn't anything to far fetched that would make the novel appear to be unreal or unrealistic which pulls the reader in, because the story inside the book could acually seem like something that had happened. The author writes with good voice, and isn't unapealing. I feel that the novel Monster apeals to the young adult readers, but would also be a great book for adults to read because it is so realistic. I would reccomend this novel to others!

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Summary: Great Book for Film Class
Review: This is one of the first Walter Dean Myers books that I've liked. I teach a film class and would definitely consider this book as a jumping-off point in teaching kids how to write and read a screenplay. The screen directions make this book different than what most of my students have probably read in previous classes.

Myers does a good job of letting the reader get into Steve's head. However, since the reader never gets a direct answer to whether or not he committed the crime he's accused of, each person is left to make up his own mind. So many trial novels are cut and cry. The accused is either clearly guilty or innocent. Monster not only gives the reader an opportunity to decide for himself, it also gives him the chance to debate the extent of Steve's guilt or innocence.

The main criticism I have of this book is the way it cuts back and forth from one place to another. Until one gets used to the transitions, they can be a bit tricky to figure out what's going on.

This would definitely be a good book to use in a high school class. There are many opportunities for discussion, debate and learning. I would recommend it to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Not Monsterous, but not great
Review: "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers begins strongly: we read, in handwritten text, "The best time to cry is at night..." This is written by Steve Harmon in the journal he is allowed to keep as he sits in jail, waiting for his murder trial to be finished (He is in jail because he supposedly checked to see if a store was empty before robbers held it up, killing the clerk in the process). He decides to pass the time by writing his experience as a courtroom drama, per the film course he took at his high school; and this journal is what we read in "Monster." This is an original premise; however, it does not pan out very well.

Many of the problems lie in the legal struggle itself. For example, much time is spent by the lawyers in the book explaining how the law is supposed to work: "We're here today basically because this is not a perfect world. The founding fathers of our country understood this." Now, I have never been to court; however, I can guess that lawyers can assume the jury knows about the law. In these modern times, with "Law & Order", with "...And Justice For All", we all know what the function of the court is. If a third of the prosecutor's opening remarks merely reiterate what the average person would know about the law anyway, it could be because he realizes that he does not have much of a leg to stand on. The lawyers in the book also have an annoying habit of objecting whenever anyone refers to a man as his nickname, "Bobo", instead of "Mr. Evans", a practice that is both unnecessary and disconcerting. Thirdly, Harmon's lawyer feels that he does not have much of a chance of winning. However, she does not think to use the defense that, although he was somewhat involved in the robbery, he was in no way responsible for the clerk being shot. This defense, while having an admittance of guilt to taking part in robbery, would relieve him of murder charges. I think.

And that is another thing: throughout the book, Harmon never actually says whether he did check the store or not. Perhaps Myers wants us to make up our own minds. I do not know. All in all, "Monster" is fairly well written. However, apart from its structure it is not very original and is rather predictable. While it could be taken to have some racial significance, the only meanings I could take from it is "Jail is bad" and "Get out of the ghetto". You may say that most of my criticism have to do with the legal aspects of the novel and not the actual form; I say if one is to write an effective trial, one ought show he knows the workings of one.

Rating:
Summary: Monster
Review: Steve is a black high shool student.He is only 16 years old.Steve is a very good student.According to one of his teachers he is a good young man that gets good grades in school.Steve lives in N.Y.C., but the book takes place in a New York Detention Center and in a Court room.Steave was involved in a robbery where a man was killed and now they want to blame him for the man's death.

One reason why I like this book is beause it's really interesting and it's something that can happen to anybody.This book is well detailed because it describes what he was doing in jail and in the court room.The book describes the conflicts between him and other people in the Detention Center.This book is perfect for young people that live in the city because a lot of young people have gone or are going through this situation.

Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: Steve Harmon, a 16 year old black bale from Harlem, is on trial for a crime he says he didn't do. He writes a notebook to make a movie from. This is what you're reading. He wrote the book in prison.
Boring!! This is not the slowest book, but not the most intersting on either. The movie-like writing makes it easy to read, but it really has no high point. The ending is predictable and no big surprise.
Kyle