MONSTER
By: Walter Dean Myers
"The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help. That way even if you sniffle a little they won't hear you"
(Myers 1).
Steve Harmon used to be an average teenage boy. He was a good student who enjoyed film making, until the day his life was turned upside down. Now, in juvenile detention and on trial for assisting in a murder he had no part in, Steve must endure several days of trial and wait for the jury's verdict. The only thing Steve has to keep him sane is a journal, which he uses to write about his life while in prison and the trial in the form of a movie, sprinkled with a few journal entries. Will he be found guilty, get sent to prison for twenty-five to life, or worse, be sent to death row?
Join thousands of other readers as they follow alongside Steve Harmon during his few chilling days in court
Awards
Coretta Scott King Author Honor
National Book Award Finalist
Michael L. Printz Award
Publishers Weekly starred
Praises
"Once you pick up this book, if becomes a part of you." - Alliance for Cultural Enrichment
"Chilling and engrossing." - The New York Times
"A taut and moving drama" - Kirkus Reviews
"Chilling and engrossing." - The New York Times
"A taut and moving drama" - Kirkus Reviews
Inspiration
"Monster" was inspired by Myers's many visits to juvenile detention centers, prisons, and courtrooms. The idea for the book came to him while speaking with an inmate at a prison. Since publishing the book, he has received more feedback than any of his other works.