Monster

Meyers, W. D. (1999).  Monster.  New York, NY:  Harper.  Steve Harmon is on trial for murder.  He finds himself in prison at sixteen years old.  He decides to write down his experience in court as a drama.  He also combines his personal journal.  Through his experiences we find out that he must remain strong in jail or he could find himself being beaten up by the other prisoners.  We also find out that he was at the store where the owner, Alguinaldo Nesbitt, is murdered with his own weapon.  It is not clear whether he was inside at the time of the murder or if he was acting as a lookout.  He is referred to as a Monster because he has no regard to other people’s property or life. He begins to believe he is a Monster.  According to the trial, there is no concrete evidence that Steve took any part in the murder.  After he is found not guilty, he realizes that his attorney is not completely convinced that he is innocent and that there are differences between them.  In the end, there is no concrete evidence that Steve did not partake in the events at the store.  I think this is a great book to teach inferences, especially Figure 19 D.  The students can come up with their own conclusions and provide their evidence from book.  In many instances, I found myself asking, “so was he really guilty or not guilty and was he even at the store at the time of the murder?”  This book is a great example of contemporary realistic fiction.  Myers lets us see the thoughts of a young boy during his trial, but he does not solve all the conflicts in the story.  For example, at the end Steve’s lawyer is not totally convinced of Steve’s innocence.