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Travis Yule

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Travis Yule rated a book really liked it

Monster

by Walter Dean Myers

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in January 2012

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Travis Yule said: " Monster by Walter Dean Myers tells a story of a boy named Steve Harmon who is a young African American boy who is falsely accused with murder. He is a very sweet very intellectual boy and the story is actually written as if Steve Harmon was writing a Monster by Walter Dean Myers tells a story of a boy named Steve Harmon who is a young African American boy who is falsely accused with murder. He is a very sweet very intellectual boy and the story is actually written as if Steve Harmon was writing a screen play of his experience. Throughout the story from page one flashbacks occur prior to his arrest and right off the bat it flashes back to where he was during the murder. He is also going from courthouse to prison throughout the book. He has a particularly bad time in prison because he is 16 so he is basically the youngest and smallest. He is being tried and the women defending him was Kathy O’Brian who she herself is having trouble believe Steve. Throughout the story there is little to no evidence introduced except criminals testifying that he was the one who committed the crime (in hopes of shortening their jail time). The prosecution is very brutal as well throughout the book especially when Steve Harmon says in his journal “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.” This quote displays the theme of the book which is that the modern judicial system really isn’t fair and balanced for all. The fact that there is even a little racism within the courts really hits home with me making this a very powerful mystery.
I really had a love hate relationship with this book. I loved the theme because it is a modern day issue that must be discussed but at the same time I feel as if writing it in a screenplay format limited how moving it really could be. Instead of Steve writing down his experiences as a screen play I feel like a traditional approach could shed more light on this serious topic. The author just fell short really showing the bias in the courts like he could with a more rational approach. It is too bad there is no other notable books on this theme in a modern day sense but there are tons of great trial books showing bias (more historically). Another thing I liked about the book was that it kept you engaged due to the loose spacing but it could also intimidated readers because it is around 300 pages but it is very doable for an average high school student. All in all I would say this book has a great message but a dreadful presentation. ...more "

Feb 15, 2013 09:06AM · see review