Monster

The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help. That way even if you sniffle a little they won’t hear you. If anybody knows that you are crying, they’ll start talking about it and soon it’ll be your turn to get beat up when the lights go out.

There is a mirror over the steel sink in my cell. It’s six inches high, and scratched with the names of some guys who were here before me. When I look into the small rectangle, I see a face looking back at me but I don’t recognize it. It doesn’t look like me. I couldn’t have changed that much in a few months. I wonder if I will look like myself when the trial is over.

They say you get used to being in jail, but I don’t see how. Every morning I wake up and am surprised to be here.

Imagine having to spend the night in jail.

Now imagine having to spend a week, month, or year in jail.

Now imagine having to spend time in jail for something you didn’t do. A crime no one, not even your defense attorney, believes you didn’t commit. Steven is a 16 year old boy who was in the wrong place, at the wrong time. And now he’s paying for it. Accused of murder by the others at the scene of the crime, Steven’s on trial, and no one knows what to think. Even his own family can’t hide their doubt about his involvement in the crime. Steven has no one, not even family, to truly cling to. He’s on his own, and he’s in prison.

Walter Dean Myers writes a masterful story about a young man wrongfully accused of murder. The unique setup of the book combined with Myers’ moving story line results in a captivating, eye-opening story. Monster is the story of racism which occurs every day, told through the eyes of a 16 year old aspiring film director. This book will open your eyes to the racism taking place all around, and it will soften your heart to Steven, a young boy trying to make his way through life.