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Monster: A Graphic Novel
A stunning graphic novel adaptation of Walter Dean Myers's New York Times bestseller Monster.
Monster is a multi-award-winning, provocative coming-of-age story about Steve Harmon, a teenager awaiting trial for a murder and robbery. As Steve acclimates to juvenile detention and goes to trial, he envisions how his ordeal would play out on the big screen.
Guy A. Sims, the acclaimed author of the Brotherman series of comic books, collaborated with his brother, the illustrator Dawud Anyabwile, in this thrilling black-and-white graphic novel adaption of Monster.
Monster 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 also now a major motion picture called All Rise starring Jennifer Hudson, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Nas, and A$AP Rocky.
Fans of Monster and of the work of Walter Dean Myers—and even kids who think they don't like to read—will devour this graphic adaptation.
Monster is a multi-award-winning, provocative coming-of-age story about Steve Harmon, a teenager awaiting trial for a murder and robbery. As Steve acclimates to juvenile detention and goes to trial, he envisions how his ordeal would play out on the big screen.
Guy A. Sims, the acclaimed author of the Brotherman series of comic books, collaborated with his brother, the illustrator Dawud Anyabwile, in this thrilling black-and-white graphic novel adaption of Monster.
Monster was the first-ever Michael L. Printz Award recipient, an ALA Best Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor selection, and a National Book Award finalist. Monster is also now a major motion picture called All Rise starring Jennifer Hudson, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Nas, and A$AP Rocky.
Fans of Monster and of the work of Walter Dean Myers—and even kids who think they don't like to read—will devour this graphic adaptation.
160 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 13, 2015
174 people are currently reading
1647 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 334 reviews
March 10, 2020
Monster: The Graphic Novel is a companion to (RIP) godfather of African American Children’s and YA literature Walter Dean Myers’s classic and still wildly popular tale of juvenile justice and representation, Monster, and it is not, as are some recent comics adaptations of books taught in American schools such as Speak, To Kill a Mockingbird, or The Handmaid’s Tale are, an instant classic artistic rendition of the original, but it is good and especially useful as a way of helping visualize the story.
The question is whether it was really necessary to do a comics version, as the story is easily accessible and pretty “visual” in the original, as Steve Harmon, stuck in jail for the trial, keeps a journal and shapes his experience of events into a screenplay. In keeping with the continuing middle grades and YA fascination with multiple fonts and type sizes, it is (still, two decades after its initial publication) lively and visually interesting (for them) as a text as it focuses on the trial, giving kids ample opportunity to engage in their own “mock trials” and inquiry into juvenile justice in their vicinities.
But the graphic adaptation just focuses on the trial, and not the representation of experience in a journal or screenplay with which Steve is engaged, so it is far more straightforward than the original. I read it with my Growing Up class in conjunction with other books on juvenile justice such as The Hate U Give, Neighborhood Girls, American Boys and the Poet X, with some poetry on related issues (including 1919 by Eve Ewing and Bloodstone Cowboy by Kara Jackson. I’ll say that most of my students who read this version of the book liked it quite a bit more than I did. I thought it was just fine but I’d never substitute it for the original.
The question is whether it was really necessary to do a comics version, as the story is easily accessible and pretty “visual” in the original, as Steve Harmon, stuck in jail for the trial, keeps a journal and shapes his experience of events into a screenplay. In keeping with the continuing middle grades and YA fascination with multiple fonts and type sizes, it is (still, two decades after its initial publication) lively and visually interesting (for them) as a text as it focuses on the trial, giving kids ample opportunity to engage in their own “mock trials” and inquiry into juvenile justice in their vicinities.
But the graphic adaptation just focuses on the trial, and not the representation of experience in a journal or screenplay with which Steve is engaged, so it is far more straightforward than the original. I read it with my Growing Up class in conjunction with other books on juvenile justice such as The Hate U Give, Neighborhood Girls, American Boys and the Poet X, with some poetry on related issues (including 1919 by Eve Ewing and Bloodstone Cowboy by Kara Jackson. I’ll say that most of my students who read this version of the book liked it quite a bit more than I did. I thought it was just fine but I’d never substitute it for the original.
July 4, 2016
Wonderfully illustrated but lacks some clarify in the narrative in the opening scenes for those unfamiliar with the story.
July 6, 2021
Monster: A Graphic Novel
by Guy A. Sims
This was a book with high tension and even though it was a graphic novel, it really showed the fear and possibility of wrongful imprisonment. Excellent mode to bring issues to the young adult/teen that would not normally read a regular novel.
It's about a boy that lives in a very poor neighborhood and there street gangs everywhere. He knows where they are and sometimes they talk to him or his friend. There's a robbery and someone is killed. Two guys are arrested then our guy of the story is too.
It's his story of what he goes through with his family, his own lawyer, the other lawyer, etc.
The kid is in a video class and occasionally it shows him and his class making this into a movie. This is the only weird part of the story. I guess it was to show what happened after but it puts these little bits into the story during.
Anyway, it was a good story regardless.
by Guy A. Sims
This was a book with high tension and even though it was a graphic novel, it really showed the fear and possibility of wrongful imprisonment. Excellent mode to bring issues to the young adult/teen that would not normally read a regular novel.
It's about a boy that lives in a very poor neighborhood and there street gangs everywhere. He knows where they are and sometimes they talk to him or his friend. There's a robbery and someone is killed. Two guys are arrested then our guy of the story is too.
It's his story of what he goes through with his family, his own lawyer, the other lawyer, etc.
The kid is in a video class and occasionally it shows him and his class making this into a movie. This is the only weird part of the story. I guess it was to show what happened after but it puts these little bits into the story during.
Anyway, it was a good story regardless.
February 11, 2017
Very moving and beautifully drawn. I have to read the novel now.
January 22, 2021
I vividly remember reading the original Monster novel written by Walter Dean Meyers, so I was excited when I came across this graphic novel adaptation. I usually enjoy graphic novel adaptations and love that they make important stories accessible to a wider audience of readers, but unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this adaptation. I found the story disjointed and jumbled, and would have appreciated if more background information was provided at the start. Providing readers with a better understanding of who Steve is and what has happened would make for a more engaging story and a deeper connection with the main character.
December 16, 2021
I love the original book and how it is written as a screenplay by the boy on trial. It's amazing (and heartbreaking) to see inside his mind as he goes through the trial and tries to decide if he is the monster they are claiming he is. The graphic novel format is done very well and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
December 19, 2019
”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 prosecutor called me: Monster.”
While I’m not 100 percent proof positive, I think I might have benefited from reading the novel first.
Steve Harmon is sixteen years old and being tried as an accessory to murder. Supposedly, he’s been accused of being the lookout to a robbery that resulted in the murder of a local store owner. He claims he’s innocent, but in the eyes of the public he’s nothing more than another messed up black teenager from the wrong side of the tracks. As the trial proceeds, Steve begins to think of his experience akin to a movie and writes it down in the form of a screenplay, partly to let the truth come out and partly to keep himself from going insane.
The original novel was published in 1999, but I was struck by how relevant its themes of racial injustice, prejudice and police brutality are. Especially considering the Black Lives Matter movement, this graphic novel couldn’t have come at a better time. I think the author touches on these subjects with a frank honesty many other authors are afraid of using, and it shows in both the character’s actions and observations by Steve. I also think the black and white illustrations by Dawud Anyabwile set the right tone of the novel and how dark and despondent the characters seem to be, and the human emotion he creates on the character’s faces simply leap off the page.
That being said, when it came to the writing and overall execution of the graphic novel, it fell flat for me. I think a lot of the material was lost in translation when it came translating the novel’s original content to graphic novel format. And since the author Walter Dean Myers didn’t adapt the novel himself (he passed away the year before this was published), I think that maybe some of the material may have been overlooked or omitted to make it shorter, which I think is a shame. Maybe it would have made more sense to me if I had read the book first and I could see what might have been omitted, but I feel that a lot of side characters got too much time and the main character himself got too little time.
The narrative format of the book also threw me off, and not in a good way. Not only was more time given to the side characters and not on Steve Harmon himself, the time jumps between the crime and the events of the trial were mumble jumbled within one another. The defendants' POVs were interspersed with Steve’s, making it occasionally hard to discern who was talking and whose POV we were listening to. And to be perfectly frank, some of the information given seemed to be fluff in order to fill in the plot gaps, and not relevant to the original story. It made me lose interest in the story and made it harder to connect with the characters.
While the flaws of the justice system and the racial prejudices of minority youths is explored and examined thoroughly and in a respectful matter, the messages could be occasionally marred by a choppy narration style and too much time given to side characters. Still, the message of this novel could far outway the cons, given the right reader. However, if you’re considering reading this, I would recommend reading the novel first to gain a better understanding of what is going on, and to get deeper inside Steve’s head.
Recommended with reservations.
While I’m not 100 percent proof positive, I think I might have benefited from reading the novel first.
Steve Harmon is sixteen years old and being tried as an accessory to murder. Supposedly, he’s been accused of being the lookout to a robbery that resulted in the murder of a local store owner. He claims he’s innocent, but in the eyes of the public he’s nothing more than another messed up black teenager from the wrong side of the tracks. As the trial proceeds, Steve begins to think of his experience akin to a movie and writes it down in the form of a screenplay, partly to let the truth come out and partly to keep himself from going insane.
”’We lie to ourselves in here. Maybe we are here because we lie to ourselves.”Interspersing his prison experiences with the trail and the events leading up to the trial, Monster is a portrayal of how even though we are led to believe that justice is color-blind, it might not always be the case.
The original novel was published in 1999, but I was struck by how relevant its themes of racial injustice, prejudice and police brutality are. Especially considering the Black Lives Matter movement, this graphic novel couldn’t have come at a better time. I think the author touches on these subjects with a frank honesty many other authors are afraid of using, and it shows in both the character’s actions and observations by Steve. I also think the black and white illustrations by Dawud Anyabwile set the right tone of the novel and how dark and despondent the characters seem to be, and the human emotion he creates on the character’s faces simply leap off the page.
That being said, when it came to the writing and overall execution of the graphic novel, it fell flat for me. I think a lot of the material was lost in translation when it came translating the novel’s original content to graphic novel format. And since the author Walter Dean Myers didn’t adapt the novel himself (he passed away the year before this was published), I think that maybe some of the material may have been overlooked or omitted to make it shorter, which I think is a shame. Maybe it would have made more sense to me if I had read the book first and I could see what might have been omitted, but I feel that a lot of side characters got too much time and the main character himself got too little time.
The narrative format of the book also threw me off, and not in a good way. Not only was more time given to the side characters and not on Steve Harmon himself, the time jumps between the crime and the events of the trial were mumble jumbled within one another. The defendants' POVs were interspersed with Steve’s, making it occasionally hard to discern who was talking and whose POV we were listening to. And to be perfectly frank, some of the information given seemed to be fluff in order to fill in the plot gaps, and not relevant to the original story. It made me lose interest in the story and made it harder to connect with the characters.
While the flaws of the justice system and the racial prejudices of minority youths is explored and examined thoroughly and in a respectful matter, the messages could be occasionally marred by a choppy narration style and too much time given to side characters. Still, the message of this novel could far outway the cons, given the right reader. However, if you’re considering reading this, I would recommend reading the novel first to gain a better understanding of what is going on, and to get deeper inside Steve’s head.
Recommended with reservations.
February 5, 2018
Steve Harmon has been accused of being in a robbery on December 22nd. Go along with Steve during the court trial and find out if he had a role in the robbery. Is Steve guilt like everyone else or is innocent like he says he is.
October 3, 2017
Underwhelmed... maybe I would have preferred the original to the graphic adaptation?
December 29, 2023
Adaptation of the novel Monster (haven‘t read it). I had free access through my library, so I thought I try something different. Black and white line art, courtroom ands prison drama. The young, black murder suspect tells the story as he envisions it on the big screen.
Unfortunately the story did not grab me. DNF at 31%.
Unfortunately the story did not grab me. DNF at 31%.
May 26, 2020
We read this book in my literacy class (Along with Monster) to study graphic novels. We also acted it out (I played Briggs), so . . . I'm not really sure how to review this book. It was good, and I think I would've liked it more had I not had to read it in sections and write paragraphs on it. Overall, it was a great book. Hopefully I get a chance to re-read it in the future without all the pressure of soaking up every detail to write a report on.
4 stars.
4 stars.
January 2, 2016
With listening to Serial, watching Making Murderer and reading All American Boys, I cannot get enough of media that explores the American justice system, flaws and all. My full review
November 2, 2015
A powerful visual representation about social welfare in today's society and how African American youth are viewed by the justice system.
October 29, 2021
Such a good look at the injustice of the judicial system when things are stacked against a young boy. This Graphic novel depiction is Steve's story as he plays it out as of this is a movie. Each player in this case is a character in this movie.
May 15, 2018
This adaptation of the award-winning novel by Mr. Myers is very faithful to the novel’s narrative. With over 150 pages of illustrations, dialogue, and internal monologue by Steve Harmon, the story captures the essence of life for a young man on the streets of Harlem, the terror of an adolescent who is experiencing being inside the prison system for the first time, and the changing perspectives of those in the court room, from the attorneys and court officers to the jurors, from family members and witnesses to the defendants, all observing the testimony and the court proceedings that will determine the fate of two young men’s lives.
Using Photoshop to create black and white digital illustrations, the illustrator focuses primarily on the faces and the intense emotions experienced by the people in the story. By deliberately using variations of head position, gaze direction, and body language, the illustrator is able to convey much of the meaning of the story beyond the words and dialogue that are written on the page. The reader can, for example, see that the very sharp professionalism and cold detachment of Steve Harmon’s lawyer contrasted sharply with the rumpled, less polished demeanor of James King’s lawyer, which corresponds to their performance in defending their respective client. In addition, the shifting focus in various frames to depict just part of a face or reflecting the image of one character against another or even to zoom out or in on a scene really helps to capture the emotions of those whose lives will be dramatically changed by the final verdict. “After we had won the case…what did she see that caused her to turn away?” (p. 153)
One of the best aspects of this medium, I believe, is the ability to relate more to the characters, see each of them as a flawed human being, and understand more about the dehumanizing effects of long-term imprisonment. I loved the fantastical film class images that transition the reader from the intensity of the plot and depict the scene as merely part of a movie, a figment of Steve’s imagination, an absurdity that relates to Shakespeare’s quote from As You Like It, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players”.
Using Photoshop to create black and white digital illustrations, the illustrator focuses primarily on the faces and the intense emotions experienced by the people in the story. By deliberately using variations of head position, gaze direction, and body language, the illustrator is able to convey much of the meaning of the story beyond the words and dialogue that are written on the page. The reader can, for example, see that the very sharp professionalism and cold detachment of Steve Harmon’s lawyer contrasted sharply with the rumpled, less polished demeanor of James King’s lawyer, which corresponds to their performance in defending their respective client. In addition, the shifting focus in various frames to depict just part of a face or reflecting the image of one character against another or even to zoom out or in on a scene really helps to capture the emotions of those whose lives will be dramatically changed by the final verdict. “After we had won the case…what did she see that caused her to turn away?” (p. 153)
One of the best aspects of this medium, I believe, is the ability to relate more to the characters, see each of them as a flawed human being, and understand more about the dehumanizing effects of long-term imprisonment. I loved the fantastical film class images that transition the reader from the intensity of the plot and depict the scene as merely part of a movie, a figment of Steve’s imagination, an absurdity that relates to Shakespeare’s quote from As You Like It, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players”.
October 26, 2015
Thank you to the publisher for giving me this copy in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 stars
I was incredibly excited to see that a graphic novel was being made of this novel. Monster is one of those books that you'll never forget, and when I read it years ago, I was impressed with Meyer's writing, creativity, and the novel's structure. It is an amazing story, and I'm glad I got to read it again in a different format.
I think the publishers were wise to roll this out now; sadly, it's still incredibly relevant (maybe even more so). As I was reading the novel, I frequently wondered if the publishers should have insisted on color--I lived in Harlem in my twenties and was missing the colors of the neighborhood, you see. Then I realized, "no," the black and white is just perfect. In the midst of the current national conversations we're having about racial disparities in our criminal justice system and the fate of many young, brown-skinned men in our country, the choice to make this colorless was perfect, I realized.
I was close to giving the graphic novel a full 5 stars, the same rating I would give the novel, but I kept thinking of the kids in my classroom who would reach for this before the text version: readers who don't really like reading, but love a good story, especially told visually. The experimentation Meyer's employed in the novel is hard to translate visually. I admire Guy Sims' adaptation--I can't imagine working with that original script format, but it was tough--even for me. I struggled for quite awhile trying to "get" what was happening (it had been 15 years since I've read the story). Honestly, I tried to consider other ways Sims could have managed to show the setting/persona shifts, but I can't imagine anyone could do a better job and I applaud him for it. I'm actually going to read this again during the Christmas break, I enjoyed it so much.
4.5 stars
I was incredibly excited to see that a graphic novel was being made of this novel. Monster is one of those books that you'll never forget, and when I read it years ago, I was impressed with Meyer's writing, creativity, and the novel's structure. It is an amazing story, and I'm glad I got to read it again in a different format.
I think the publishers were wise to roll this out now; sadly, it's still incredibly relevant (maybe even more so). As I was reading the novel, I frequently wondered if the publishers should have insisted on color--I lived in Harlem in my twenties and was missing the colors of the neighborhood, you see. Then I realized, "no," the black and white is just perfect. In the midst of the current national conversations we're having about racial disparities in our criminal justice system and the fate of many young, brown-skinned men in our country, the choice to make this colorless was perfect, I realized.
I was close to giving the graphic novel a full 5 stars, the same rating I would give the novel, but I kept thinking of the kids in my classroom who would reach for this before the text version: readers who don't really like reading, but love a good story, especially told visually. The experimentation Meyer's employed in the novel is hard to translate visually. I admire Guy Sims' adaptation--I can't imagine working with that original script format, but it was tough--even for me. I struggled for quite awhile trying to "get" what was happening (it had been 15 years since I've read the story). Honestly, I tried to consider other ways Sims could have managed to show the setting/persona shifts, but I can't imagine anyone could do a better job and I applaud him for it. I'm actually going to read this again during the Christmas break, I enjoyed it so much.
April 14, 2024
Representation: Black characters
Trigger warnings: Murder, imprisonment, physical assault and injury, blood depiction, drug use mentioned
Score: Six points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I saw Monster displayed on the shelves of a library I went to so after I read another book, I immediately seized the opportunity to get it by picking it up. Afterwards, I read Monster, but when I finished it, I thought it had flaws that forced me to lower its rating. Maybe the original text will be a better reading experience for me.
It starts with the first person I see, Steve Harmon, who is arrested and awaiting trial for a murder accusation. He finds an opportunity to live through that journey like it is a movie, and thus the court case begins. There are some flashbacks to explain what happened before the police arrested Steve like the other characters who committed a robbery and, most prominently, the murder of a person. Despite Monster being under 200 pages, it still felt slow paced, allowing me to see the flaws, of which there are many. Why is the art black and white? I can understand that to be intentional, but I would've liked it if the art was full colour. The characters were hard to connect or relate with and the font was hard to read, dampening my reading experience. The conclusion petered out as the legal drama comes to an end.
Trigger warnings: Murder, imprisonment, physical assault and injury, blood depiction, drug use mentioned
Score: Six points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I saw Monster displayed on the shelves of a library I went to so after I read another book, I immediately seized the opportunity to get it by picking it up. Afterwards, I read Monster, but when I finished it, I thought it had flaws that forced me to lower its rating. Maybe the original text will be a better reading experience for me.
It starts with the first person I see, Steve Harmon, who is arrested and awaiting trial for a murder accusation. He finds an opportunity to live through that journey like it is a movie, and thus the court case begins. There are some flashbacks to explain what happened before the police arrested Steve like the other characters who committed a robbery and, most prominently, the murder of a person. Despite Monster being under 200 pages, it still felt slow paced, allowing me to see the flaws, of which there are many. Why is the art black and white? I can understand that to be intentional, but I would've liked it if the art was full colour. The characters were hard to connect or relate with and the font was hard to read, dampening my reading experience. The conclusion petered out as the legal drama comes to an end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2019
Even though it won all the awards and was a common book in elementary schools, I never actually read Monster as a kid and picked this up as a way to get a deeper intro to the plot beyond "kid on trial for murder."
14-year old Stevie is facing 25-to-life after being accused of serving as lookout in a convenience store robbery. However, at 14, his mind is wandering throughout the trial and reframing everything as a movie. Not knowing the full plot ahead of time seems to be a key part of the book as many of the events have ambiguous interpretations and reader discovery is important.
The graphic novel does a good job combining real life, Stevie's perception, and movie reel re-imaginings, and it makes me wonder how the formatting worked in print. The graphic novel itself is mainly harsh lines and entirely in black and white, playing on the book's themes of racial tension, guilt, and truth.
Fun trivia: adapters Guy A. Sims and Dawud Anyabwile are apparently brothers.
14-year old Stevie is facing 25-to-life after being accused of serving as lookout in a convenience store robbery. However, at 14, his mind is wandering throughout the trial and reframing everything as a movie. Not knowing the full plot ahead of time seems to be a key part of the book as many of the events have ambiguous interpretations and reader discovery is important.
The graphic novel does a good job combining real life, Stevie's perception, and movie reel re-imaginings, and it makes me wonder how the formatting worked in print. The graphic novel itself is mainly harsh lines and entirely in black and white, playing on the book's themes of racial tension, guilt, and truth.
Fun trivia: adapters Guy A. Sims and Dawud Anyabwile are apparently brothers.
March 4, 2021
The original was a classic and appropriate for a lot of different levels. This may be more gritty and geared more towards high-school. It's a good story, though.
February 18, 2023
Every week I present American authors to my Junior English class. During Black History Month, I present Black American authors. Two weeks ago, I presented Jason Reynolds. I shared the awards his books have earned, including the usual awards I see: Newberry, Printz, and Coretta Scott King. But he had a fourth award: the Walter.
The Walter is named for Walter Dean Myers, who I had heard of, but never read. I had two books in my classroom library that I inherited from other teachers or past students. Over the years, I have seen Hoops, Slam, Monster, Fallen Angels, and Sunrise Over Fallujah pass through my classroom library, but never read them myself. I didn’t even know if Walter Dean Myers was Black or white before this week.
So I jumped in. I decided to research the namesake if the award and present him to my students if relevant. I quickly learned that Myers was a prolific YA writer and advocate. Many of his books are available as e-books and audiobooks on free platforms like Hoopla. Monster seems to be his most celebrated novel, adapted to a graphic novel (which I checked out immediately) and Netflix original movie in 2021. He was publishing YA since before I was born, which means he was publishing YA when I was a YA. I’m disappointed that I’m discovering such an amazing-now sadly deceased-person at almost 40 years old.
I don’t know why I was so dismissive, but I have spent the week grappling with that question. Why has it taken me so much of my lifetime to find literature that is so important and was there all along? The same thing happened when I discovered Louise Erdrich in 2021. Is it my own implicit biases changing? Or have the biases in the publishing industry shifted? Did who was buying me books when I was young play a role? Why did I do my Junior Research Paper on Ernest Hemingway? Why, when I started teaching 15 years ago, were we still assigning the same Junior Research Paper on American Authors, supplying students with a roster of authors to choose from that was nearly void of BIPOC voices? I remember a Black student from my second year, who I’m still friends with on social media and is working in a creative field today, did his paper on Robert Frost. I’m sad when identify with harm done to past students by not affirming their identity. I hope I’m atoning for it by reflecting and trying to do better.
Sorry this review was a deep dive into my teacher guilt. I don’t want to spoil the book, but it’s wonderful. The main character is a student filmmaker, so the novel and graphic novel are deeply cinematic in style. I understand the novel is like a screenplay. The graphic novel is more like a storyboard where teen Steve Harmon occasionally breaks the fourth wall, shuffling scenes he’s not ready to face yet. There are imagined/fantasy sequences where he is home with his family or in his film class when he’s actually in a cell or the courtroom. It is disorienting in the portrayal of mental coping mechanisms one would develop to survive jail or prison. To survive worrying what so many people think. To survive with self and truth intact. I devoured this story and just wish I would have cared about it 24 years ago when it came out. I’m grateful my brain is mature enough to understand now.
The Walter is named for Walter Dean Myers, who I had heard of, but never read. I had two books in my classroom library that I inherited from other teachers or past students. Over the years, I have seen Hoops, Slam, Monster, Fallen Angels, and Sunrise Over Fallujah pass through my classroom library, but never read them myself. I didn’t even know if Walter Dean Myers was Black or white before this week.
So I jumped in. I decided to research the namesake if the award and present him to my students if relevant. I quickly learned that Myers was a prolific YA writer and advocate. Many of his books are available as e-books and audiobooks on free platforms like Hoopla. Monster seems to be his most celebrated novel, adapted to a graphic novel (which I checked out immediately) and Netflix original movie in 2021. He was publishing YA since before I was born, which means he was publishing YA when I was a YA. I’m disappointed that I’m discovering such an amazing-now sadly deceased-person at almost 40 years old.
I don’t know why I was so dismissive, but I have spent the week grappling with that question. Why has it taken me so much of my lifetime to find literature that is so important and was there all along? The same thing happened when I discovered Louise Erdrich in 2021. Is it my own implicit biases changing? Or have the biases in the publishing industry shifted? Did who was buying me books when I was young play a role? Why did I do my Junior Research Paper on Ernest Hemingway? Why, when I started teaching 15 years ago, were we still assigning the same Junior Research Paper on American Authors, supplying students with a roster of authors to choose from that was nearly void of BIPOC voices? I remember a Black student from my second year, who I’m still friends with on social media and is working in a creative field today, did his paper on Robert Frost. I’m sad when identify with harm done to past students by not affirming their identity. I hope I’m atoning for it by reflecting and trying to do better.
Sorry this review was a deep dive into my teacher guilt. I don’t want to spoil the book, but it’s wonderful. The main character is a student filmmaker, so the novel and graphic novel are deeply cinematic in style. I understand the novel is like a screenplay. The graphic novel is more like a storyboard where teen Steve Harmon occasionally breaks the fourth wall, shuffling scenes he’s not ready to face yet. There are imagined/fantasy sequences where he is home with his family or in his film class when he’s actually in a cell or the courtroom. It is disorienting in the portrayal of mental coping mechanisms one would develop to survive jail or prison. To survive worrying what so many people think. To survive with self and truth intact. I devoured this story and just wish I would have cared about it 24 years ago when it came out. I’m grateful my brain is mature enough to understand now.
July 8, 2024
**Huitième lecture de mon défi personnel de lire un livre en anglais par mois en 2024.
BD créée à partir du roman du même titre, qui raconte le procès d'un adolescent pour avoir participé à un vol qui s'est mal terminé.
L'ensemble était intéressant mais un peu confus à certains moments à cause des retours dans le temps qui n'étaient pas identifiés comme tels. Ils apparaissaient au milieu d'une page et ça me prenait quelques cases avant de comprendre que la scène ne se déroulait pas dans le présent.
L'autre point négatif est qu'on peut difficilement s'attacher au jeune Steve parce qu'on ne sait pas grand chose à son sujet. Le roman se concentre sur le procès, sans s'attarder sur qui il est et les raisons qui l'ont poussé à participer à ce crime.
BD créée à partir du roman du même titre, qui raconte le procès d'un adolescent pour avoir participé à un vol qui s'est mal terminé.
L'ensemble était intéressant mais un peu confus à certains moments à cause des retours dans le temps qui n'étaient pas identifiés comme tels. Ils apparaissaient au milieu d'une page et ça me prenait quelques cases avant de comprendre que la scène ne se déroulait pas dans le présent.
L'autre point négatif est qu'on peut difficilement s'attacher au jeune Steve parce qu'on ne sait pas grand chose à son sujet. Le roman se concentre sur le procès, sans s'attarder sur qui il est et les raisons qui l'ont poussé à participer à ce crime.
November 8, 2021
I enjoyed Monster because it had beautiful illustration and had tons of detail that was very helpful to understand inside the story, The story is about a young black teenager who was accused of killing a shop owner. I think this story was made to represent modern society. Even though the young kid was a lookout he had nothing to do with the murder. The author tried to show what is happening even these days. In america if you see a young black kid accused for murder many people would think it was him.
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October 16, 2022was a little challenging to get into, just because I sometimes couldn't tell who was who. just felt a bit jumbled at the beginning, but made more sense eventually. I totally believe in making important stories more accessible but I'm not sure this story lended itself to being a graphic novel...?
January 30, 2019
This was a great read and very poignant!
June 28, 2020
The graphic novel was great except sometimes the lettering was way too small, which got distracting.
November 12, 2020
3.5 stars
I really liked the film aspect of the graphic novel. Intense read but an important one.
Glad it had a hopefully ending! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
I really liked the film aspect of the graphic novel. Intense read but an important one.
Glad it had a hopefully ending! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
December 23, 2021
I enjoyed this more than I thought because I was a little confused about what exactly was going on in the beginning. I haven’t actually read the novel told in verse, so wasn’t familiar with the story. Trials stress me out but at the same time I can’t look away.
November 16, 2022
This story had me on the edge of my seat for the verdict.
January 7, 2023
Refer to my first review of the actual novel.
But this graphic had beautiful images.
But this graphic had beautiful images.
November 13, 2023
This book was so good. I read it in an hour. Left me speechless.
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