Monster by Walter Dean Myers

“Think about all the tomorrows of your life.” —Walter Dean Myers, Monster

Walter Dean Myers's Monster is a high intensity, page turning novel about a sixteen year old black male, named Steve Harmon. Steve is in jail after being accused of being an accomplice in a robbery, which ended in the slaying of the drugstore owner. To keep his thoughts from becoming too dark while he awaits his sentencing, Steve decides to take his journal entries and write a screenplay.

Monster is written entirely in dialogue and fluctuates between the trial and Steve’s journal entries. The journal entries are Steve's thoughts, which pull the reader in, making them feel as if they are right there with him. The journal entries reveal the true thoughts of Steve, humanizing him, removing himself from the 'monster' that the prosecutor is making him out to be. Myers lets the reader decide if Steve is a reliable or unreliable narrator.

The writing is intense and full of drama, and presents a real world issue: at one point in their life everyone will be presented with a choice that could be considered morally wrong, do you do it or not? What are the consequences and could you possibly live with them?

If you like this title please consider checking out Kekla Magoon's How It Went Down, and for graphic novel lovers Monster: A Graphic Novel is slated to come out in October!