Monster

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Summary: My Book Review of Monster
Review: I read a novel called Monster by Walter Dean Myers for literature circles in my class. I liked it very much because of the reasons I am about to say. This novel is about a black teenager named Steve Harman. He was accused of being a look out for a murder and a robbery. The murder took place in a drug store. The owner was shot and a couple of cases of cigarettes were stolen. The book is written like a movie script. It has stage directions and lines, this makes it more to interesting because it shows how stage directions and scripts are written. The novel shows the prejudice and discrimination that takes place in our modern courts. Steven Harman is trying to prove his innocents that he had nothing to do with the murder but some one prosecutor said he was a look out. The beginning of the book was excellent and I was interested right away but some parts later in the book like his personal notes about the trial get a little slow. This novel shows the point of view a teenager in prison. It shows his personality and what he is going through. In certain places in the novel Steve has flash backs about what happened before the trail and earlier in his childhood. I think the novel Monster by Walter Dean Myers is a very good book for 7th grade literature circles or just for a reading book.

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Summary: Monster Review
Review: The book, Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, is about a 16-year-old teenage boy, Steve Harmon, who is on trial for murder. The problem is he is being prejudiced because he is an African American who comes from a rundown neighborhood. He must face court and a jury to judge whether he is going to spend the rest of his life in jail.
I think this book is a really powerful book, and is very intriguing. One thing that pulled me in was the fact that this was a trial for murder, for a large offense. The boy, Steve Harmon is being charged with helping in a murder of a drugstore owner. Steve will have to spend at least 25 years in prison if he is found guilty. The whole book pulls you into the argument like you are in the courtroom, in the middle of the heated trial. Another thing that was really interesting for me was the way it was written. This book is separated into two ways of telling the story. Most of it is in a movie script form, where it explains actions of the people, and has camera movement details. This gives you a real picture of what is going on. The rest is in the format of Steve Harmon's journal, telling his feeling and thoughts. When you read this part you really get inside his head and understand his reactions.
One downside to this book is that it can become confusing, with the entire cutting from one scene to another, and panning of the camera. Sometimes, it jumps from a scene in the courtroom, to a scene where Steve is at home. Another confusing aspect is that you never really know whether he is innocent. Many facts in the story hint he is guilty while other information points out that he is not. The fact that he cannot clearly remember the day of the robbery makes you think he is guilty, but other parts like his thoughts and personality, being so scared and small in this book, makes you believe him innocent. Steve does not seem to know whether he is innocent or not.
All in all, I think this was an intriguing book, and I highly recommend it. I think everyone should read Monster.

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Summary: Monster
Review: Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, was a book I thoroughly enjoyed. It is about a 16-year-old African American teenager on trial for murder. The plot covers the case, his life before he went to court, and his thoughts about his life and what goes on in it. Steve lived with his family, but now he is in jail for being convicted of participating in a robbery. Script and diary forms are used to tell the story. As a whole the book was fast paced and realistic. Once I started reading, the intriguing plot sucked me in. It makes the reader want to know what happens to Steve. The courtroom scenes are very accurate, and according to a federal prosecutor, what goes on in real life is very similar. The book is also slightly confusing. Flashbacks, the switching between the script and note forms, and different perspectives about the incident make it hard to grasp whether Steve was innocent or not. Some of the pictures in the book, drawn by the author's son, can be misleading as well. They did not match the events in the story. For example, Steve states that he was never in the hardware store during the holdup. A picture of Steve from the viewpoint of a security camera shows him surveying the store, which completely contradicts the plotline. However, perhaps the author purposely did this to let the reader decide for him/herself whether or not Steve was innocent. Overall, Monster was a captivating book that kept me interested throughout, even during the puzzling parts.

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Summary: Review of "Monster" written by Walter Dean Myers
Review: The novel "Monster" written by Walter Dean Myers deals with a 16 year old black boy named Steve Harmon, who is a defendant in a trial. He is indirectly involved in a murder of a drugstoreowner after a robbery. In the book there are two different kinds of writing types. On the on hand there is a script, the acting during the trial. It is emotionless and without deeper feelings. On the other hand there is a handwritten diary of Steve. In these parts he describes the situation and his feelings in jail. But not only his feelings, also the feelings of his family are presented in a dramatically way. When Steve describes the plot, you can imagine the situation in your mind very good.
In my opinion there is a high standard of reality in the story. The methods of the defendence and the prosecuting attorney are presented detaildly.
The tension all over the book is on a high level, because the reader doesn't know the ending of the trial, the judgement. There is the "big" question all over the story if Steve is guilty or not. After the judgement you can also ask if Steve is guilty. Two of the main characters are the defendents Steve and King. King is the antagourist with his criminality and his appearance in front of the jury. Is Steve the protagourist? There is no direct answer. He wants to show the jury that he is not guilty, but it is not really clear, because in front the stand he lies that he was not in the drugstore at the 22nd of December, the day of the robbery.
On the one hand it is interesting that the reader gets to know a lot of different characters on the witness stand, but sometimes it can be a little bit boring when the prosecutor Ms. Petrocelli asks many questions to a witness.
The level of speech is not very high, which means you can read the book easily. Funny is the colloquial language, for example "sit on john pants down".
At the end of the novel there is a epilogue. I think the epilogue is necessary to know what happened after the trial. It is interesting to look into the future, how Steve's life is changed after the hard time in jail.
When you want to know something about the situation in a jail in New York or the situation in a trial in the USA this book is a nice document of this things and it will be reward to read the novel "Monster".

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Summary: Search for Identity
Review: Written as a screen play, Monster is a unique look at a youth's loss of innocence and the justice system all in one. Steve Harmon, the protagonist, is on trial for his part in the murder of a convenient store owner. Although he is involved in the case, the reader is not sure to what extent he was a part of the crime, as there are other suspects.

The other main suspect on trial is James King. Unlike Steve, King is lacking youth and innocence. Steve's active interest in filmography gives him the idea to tell this story as though it is a movie. As he goes through the court proceedings, we learn bits and pieces of the case as told through Steve's perspective. There are a series of flashbacks in which scenes from the events leading up to the crime are shown.

We get to hear the entire trial as it progresses, the opening statements, the evidence, the witnesses for both sides, and the closing arguments. Steve's search for identity while incarcerated is the constant theme of the book, and Myers does an excellent job taking us through a series of character point-of-views and scenes that are pivotal to the case through Steve's eyes.

Perhaps Steve Harmon's journey is such a difficult one because we get the sense that his lawyer has some doubt about his innocence. The significance of the title, Monster, is apparent in how people sometimes prejudge a person without knowing what they are really about. This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to read about the delimmas of court proceedings, and a minor's search for himself. This is a great book, especially for young adults.

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Summary: My Review of the novel MONSTER
Review: The Novel Monster was a different form of writing. It was new to me and it had a very good plot to make it believable. The story does start too soon but it was written that way to add some suspense. There was enough information to know what was happening. The main character, Steve Harmon, sort of resolved his conflict and could live with the outcome of it.

The story did maintain my attention but sometimes got boring and confusing. The story moves too fast in the beginning but eventually is in the "right" pace. The pacing does match the genre of the story and it kept you guessing if the main character was guilty or not.

The story didn't really transport me to the time and place where it was happening but it did give me an image of what was happening. Since the book was written in a screenplay, it described the setting and it gave you an image of how it was like. The characters, their actions, and the time frame agreed with each other since it was in a courtroom. The order of events in this book were different because of the way it was written.

The characters seem very real because it is personalized like people who would be in a courtroom. The characters' actions are consistent throughout the story, the protagonist changes at the end of the story. The language does match the time frame of the story; there isn't too much profanity or heavy accents. The dialogue matches the conflicts in the novel.

This book is a good piece of work and I enjoyed reading it.

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Summary: The best book I ever read!
Review: Reviewer: Dartanon McGee from Harbor City CA
May 3, 2004

I started reading this book for my pleasure reading and I just couldn't put it down. It is about a sixteen year old African American boy who is on trial for his life. He is in jail and can't bare the thought. It will probably be most appealing to high school students. I really like this book most for its originality and real life experience. Steve Harmon, the main character, is a lot like every teenager. He is just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Written like a movie script, as you read it feels like are right there with him from the courtroom to his jail cell.

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Summary: Monster
Review: In the book "monster" by the author Walter Dean Myers, Steve Harmon , 16 years old, tells about his time in jail. He participated in a robbery. In this time in the jail, he writes a diary. He discribes his experiences and fears. Miss O`Brien defends him in his difficult time. However, she constructs no connection with Steve. For her it is her Job and nothing more. The jury is not sure that Steve is guilty or not. The whole court atmosphäre is represented in a sort of dialogue in the book. Therefore I do not find the book very interesting. It is boring.

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Summary: Atef's book review
Review: The Author of this book is Walter Dean Myers. To begin the book is very difficult to read, but then it goes well. The main character in the book Monster is Steve Harmon. He goes on trial because he shall taken part in a robbery with a murder. Steve Harmon is despairing because he thinks he does nothing. The book is written as a script. The story and Steve's diary are very interessting, but the "Fade in","cut to" and so on sometimes are confused. I think Walter Dean Myers book is perfect. I would recommend the book to everybody who is interessted in pleadings and the people who are in the background of the trial.

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Summary: Monster - dA book
Review: The book Monster is not a book like others.
Its written like a film script in a view of a young Man.
His name is Steve Harmon and he is the main character of the book.
He is in a difficult situation, because he is in prison for felony murder.
But nobody knows if its true, that he killed an old man in a drugstore and stole some things.
There are other characters likle King and Bobo Evans, who are perhaps the murderer too.
Many of you will ask1, why the book is called Monster.
During the time in case, Steve is searching his own identity because many people are not believing in him, like the prosecutor.
She called Steve a Monster because she is sure that Steve is guilty.
The reason are that he is black, young and comes form the ghetto so he looks like a typical ghetto man.
In my opinion , this book is only for persons who really enjoy reading.
Children or teenager would have no fun reading this book, because there are a lot of difficult words and some parts are very boring !