Monster

= = By: Walter Dean Myers
 * Monster**

**APA Citation**
Myers, W.D. (1999). //Monster//. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Summary
This book is about a sixteen year old boy named Steve Harmon. Steve grew up in a neighborhood that is notorious for crime, yet he has always been a good student. In his school he participates in the film club and aspires to work in the film industry. Because of Steve's background in film the book is written in a script form, even paying special attention to camera setting and lighting. Except, the movie that Steve is writing is his own life, in real time. Steve has been accused of murder, along with other people from his neighborhood. Steve spends his days recording the activity in the courtroom and in the detention center that he is being housed in, since his arrest. Within the script is interjections that Steve writes that are his own diary entries. This book is written as from a directors point of view in a real life drama with small excerpts that allow the reader to feel the emotions being felt by a teenager who is in a trial that will determine what happens with the rest of his life. Also included in the story are the interactions between Steve and his family and inmates.

Critique
This book would be very interesting to a teenager or young adult. The story is written in a way that keeps the reader guessing as to whether Steve is guilty or not. It does cause the reader to reflect on the idea that a seemingly "good" kid has somehow found himself in a detention center that up until that point had always separated himself from. This book has a moral effect on the reader as well as causing the reader to think deeply about the circumstances. The emotional diary entries that Steve includes in his "script" allow the reader to fully understand the desperation and emotional effects that he is experiencing while being separated from his home, family, friends and all other comforts that he loves. Clearly, I would use this book within my own classroom. This book can be used as a valuable teaching tool.

Content Area Uses
Language Arts
 * Reading Comprehension
 * Plot
 * Setting
 * Foreshadowing
 * Interpretation

Social Studies
 * Geography (New York)
 * History of African American oppression

Math

Science

Drama/Theater Psychology
 * Use of Script
 * Steve's expertise in production
 * Effects of good/bad friendships
 * family relationships
 * school relationships
 * environmental effects on youth