Monster

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

This engrossing story follows a few months in the life of a 16 year old male protagonist. He finds himself in prison and on trial for aiding in the murder of a drug store owner during a robbery. He is unsure how he wound up here, but he knows that his true self doesn't belong in the confines of these walls. As a coping mechanism, he begins to jot down the process of his trial to make it into a movie which he entitles "Monster." After all, this is what the prosecuting attorney termed him.

This book certainly fits the characteristics of YA lit. that we have been discussing. A 16 year old protagonist, the story line is rather dark (not the case in all YA lit. of course), the material, while not overly gruesome and certainly not too mature, makes for heavy reading - the author, Walter Dean Myers, does a fantastic job of allowing the reader the opportunity to feel every raw emotion of the protagonist.

One of the most unique things about this book is the format in which it is written. It is written as a movie script, just as the protagonist creates in the book. There are a lot of short paragraphs with a lot of white space. Camera angles and voice overs are constantly noted and the dialog is always proceeded by the name of the person who is about to speak.

I would not have any concerns giving this to a teenager to read. As far as using this as a class read-aloud, I'd have to say it would depend on the demographics of the school. Honestly, I would use this as a read-aloud in a classroom that is so far removed from this situation that all this book would be is an interesting, thrilling story. I'd have second thoughts about using it in a classroom where the students could have parents or family members in prison and/or could picture themselves being there someday. Who knows? Maybe this book would be a good turn-off to prison for some students, but it also might bring up a lot of uncomfortable, angry feelings.