"Monster" by Walter Dean Myers
Myers, Walter Dean.(1999) Monster. New York, NY: HarperCollins Children's Books. ISBN: 0-06-028077-8
I have to start by saying that I’ve
never read a book that took a form quite like this one. The font is the first
eyecatcher because it looks like handwriting. The reader learns quickly that it
is meant to be a diary for a teenager facing a 25-year jail sentence. What we
don’t know for a while is if he is guilty of a crime or not. Steve is the
writer/narrator and it is his diary we are reading. He is/was in a film class
that has inspired him to turn his experience into a film as well, so he is
recording his version of the events in the form of a script. This format lends
itself to the storyline because it all feels completely real. The “handwritten”
diary entries trick the reader very cleverly.
The script format presents the details
in a neutral, cold way that allows the reader to develop their own idea regarding
Steve’s guilt, though the questioning of witnesses gently prods us a particular
direction. The mere idea that a, roughly, 15-year-old child could be sentenced
to prison for over two decades for being an accessory to a crime is mind
blowing. This is not a viewpoint that many people are familiar with. Reading
this book is a brand-new experience. This young boy feels that he is a monster
because that is what society has labeled him before learning his story. He’s
been slapped with a label based on the place he lives, color of his skin and a
few acquaintances he’s made. Even his lawyer doubts him!
I’ll be honest, this book gave me
literal, physical chest pains. Reading the jury’s verdict was a near anxiety
attack for me and I WAS JUST READING! The events described by Steve are
realistic accounts of what jail is like. He mentions fearing being beaten or
raped regularly and starts off by saying that crying is only safe when someone
else is being hurt. I don’t want to say that I enjoyed this book because it did
not bring me “joy.” It did bring me insight, however, and anxiety for those
going through similar experiences.
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