Annotation:
Sixteen year old Steve Harmon may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Steve try's to figure out if, indeed, he truly is a monster, while being tried for murder. Steve turns his diary into a screenplay which gives him insight to his own coming-of-age identity.
Justification for Nomination:
The concept of showing Steve Harmon as a human being, rather than a monster, is defense attorney Kathy O' Brien's goal during trial. The scenes are shot mostly in the court room or the jail house. Walter Dean Myers book draws you into" Monster" with an emotional hook as well as being intellectually stimulating. Steve, as the protagonist, searches for his own identity while telling his true story in the form of a film he is shooting as a screenplay.
Steve was fingered as the lookout person for a drugstore robbery went bad, with the owner who ended up murdered with his own gun. Steve's attorney, Miss O'Brien, does a good job at showing Steve to be human while creating a question beyond a reasonable doubt, in the jury's minds.
Myers presents rape and violence within the prison walls, that young Steve becomes dreadfully fearful of, listening to human sounds of violation. There is no privacy in prison. Some men are just looking for a fight. One time another man grabbed Steve's meat right off of his dinner tray. Steve kept a low, quiet profile so as not to stir up any aggression.
Steve's parents were supportive of their son, but it hurt Steve to see his Mama crying so much. She gave him a Bible and marked a passage for him saying to trust in the Lord, the Lord is my strength. Even during church services in prison, a fight would break out.
O'Brien accomplishes what she set out to do. Society put a label on Steve, "Monster", she would remove it. Steve was in the film club at school. His teacher, George Sawicki, was very fond of him. On the witness stand he expressed what a talented and outstanding man Steve is. The jury ate it up, which promoted doubt about Steve's guilt.
This is a tantalizing story of separating an adolescent self-portrayal from his crime. The guilt or innocence is left ambiguous and for the reader to decide. The book is a great example of risk-taking that many youth get involved with. It also points out racial profiling and the impact that incarceration has on the African-American population. I feel that the book leaves an impression on young adults by allowing them to think about consequences of their decisions and how their actions can affect others.
Genre: nonfiction, coming-of-age/search for identity. Coretta Scott King Award, Micheal L. Prinz Award, National Book Award. Multicultural.
Posted by Theresa Perl
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