Monster

 

Author: Walter Dean Myers

Title: Monster

Genre: Crime fiction

Bibliographic Data in MLA format: Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. Thorndike Press, 2020.

Recommended Grade Level(s): 9-10

Number of Pages: 281

*Brief, concise plot description (no more than one paragraph): 

This novel is written with a mixture of a screenplay, diary entries, and regular text and tells the story about Black teen Steve Harmon as he waits to go on trial for a murder he claims innocence on. The story switches from his thoughts and flashbacks of what happened in the convenience store where he was at the time of the crime, as well as the events leading up to and of the trial. Eventually, he is declared innocent, but a dooming refusal to hug by his lawer at the end of the novel leaves Steve thinking what he has questioned all along--is he a monster? 

Possible Teaching Concerns (may refer back to the text(s) used in class): 

This story deals with murder, crime jargon, and criminalization, which are all topics that take maturity to understand. While I don't think there is anything explicit or graphic in the novel, understanding the deeper issue of race and criminalization might go over the heads of younger readers, which is why I would not teach it until high school. 

Personal Reaction to/and/or Evaluation of novel: 

I personally did not love the style of the writing, though I appreciated the creativeness of it and how it did all flow together. I do, however, think younger readers would like the way it is broken up, and I also think that this would be a good book to use when talking about how reliable a narrator can or cannot be. I think this may be one instance where I would like the movie better than the book. 

Canonical work with which to juxtapose this novel & a brief (one paragraph) description of the rationale to connect the 2 works: 

 I would connect this book with The Crucible because they are both books centered around trials where the person put on trial is pleading guilty. While they are not perfect matches, they do line up in the buildup to the trial and the urgency to defend themselves because of high stakes.