The book, Monster by Walter Dean Myers, is a courtroom drama told through both first person and third person perspective. The story follows the trial of Steve Harmon, the protagonist of the story, James King, the man who planned and plotted the entire crime, and Bobo Evans, the person who helped King. The lawyers, Petrocelli and O'Brien are major characters in the story as well. Sandra Petrocelli, the state lawyer, persecuted the suspects King, Bobo, Steve, and Osvaldo Cruz, Steve’s lawyer, the defense attorney is Kathy O’ Brien. Throughout the story you can tell that O’ Brien doesn’t really trust that Steve is innocent and constantly doubts him. Another one of the side characters is Steve’s mom, I really like how Steve’s mom was an actual part in the story, even though it was a really small part. The book is partly in the format of a script, the reason being was that Steve was an aspiring filmmaker, and partly in the style of a journal. The story focused a lot on Steve's experiences in prison as well as his relationship with his parents and his lawyer. What I liked about how the author wrote the prison scenes in the story was that he didn't sugarcoat it, it wasn't fluffy or happy, and it was real. That was what drew me into the story, it didn't hide the reality of prison or trials, not everyone is going to be on Steve's side, even his lawyer might have thought he was guilty. Another part of the story I enjoyed was that Steve isn’t some dumb, impulsive gangster, he goes to one of the most prestigious high schools in America. He talked clearly, he had dreams of being something more, and he wasn’t different from any other teenager. I feel like so many other media outlets are portraying African Americans as this sort of offensive stereotype, especially if they are a title character. The story doesn't really talk about African American culture like other books with an African American protagonist, but it does give you insight into how prejudiced people are against black people when it comes to crime. The story deals really well with topics like racial prejudice, guilt, being pressured into doing something, and stereotyping. I am actually giving the story 3.5 stars because although the story was well written and the format of the story was original, the plot didn't hook me in well enough for me to give it a 4 out of 5 stars, also I felt like the story was building up to this big event and then just flopped like a fish.
Sandra Petrocelli, the state lawyer, persecuted the suspects King, Bobo, Steve, and Osvaldo Cruz, Steve’s lawyer, the defense attorney is Kathy O’ Brien. Throughout the story you can tell that O’ Brien doesn’t really trust that Steve is innocent and constantly doubts him. Another one of the side characters is Steve’s mom, I really like how Steve’s mom was an actual part in the story, even though it was a really small part.
The book is partly in the format of a script, the reason being was that Steve was an aspiring filmmaker, and partly in the style of a journal. The story focused a lot on Steve's experiences in prison as well as his relationship with his parents and his lawyer. What I liked about how the author wrote the prison scenes in the story was that he didn't sugarcoat it, it wasn't fluffy or happy, and it was real. That was what drew me into the story, it didn't hide the reality of prison or trials, not everyone is going to be on Steve's side, even his lawyer might have thought he was guilty. Another part of the story I enjoyed was that Steve isn’t some dumb, impulsive gangster, he goes to one of the most prestigious high schools in America. He talked clearly, he had dreams of being something more, and he wasn’t different from any other teenager. I feel like so many other media outlets are portraying African Americans as this sort of offensive stereotype, especially if they are a title character. The story doesn't really talk about African American culture like other books with an African American protagonist, but it does give you insight into how prejudiced people are against black people when it comes to crime. The story deals really well with topics like racial prejudice, guilt, being pressured into doing something, and stereotyping.
I am actually giving the story 3.5 stars because although the story was well written and the format of the story was original, the plot didn't hook me in well enough for me to give it a 4 out of 5 stars, also I felt like the story was building up to this big event and then just flopped like a fish.