Review of MONSTER
A. Myers, Walter Dean. MONSTER. New York: HarperCollins, 1999
B. PLOT SUMMARY: 16 year old Steve Harmon is studious and his favorite class is media and film making at his Harlem high school. He is articulate and bright and it seems also that he is at exactly the wrong place at exactly the wrong time. There is a robbery at a convenience store. Two young men are designated to rob and or shoot. Someone is to go in and case the joint first and another young man is delegated to keep people outside from coming in to apprehend the suspects. Whether Steve cased the joint ahead of time we are not quite sure. His time in jail is unbearable to him. As he tries to go to bed at night he hears other inmates being beaten, being sexually abused and crying. During the incarceration and the trial Steve keeps a journal. He decides the best way for him to deal with the stress of a possible death sentence or 25 to life is to write a screenplay of his life in jail and his time in the court room. His journal entries are more than poignant and they may well serve the current generation like the documentary “Scared Straight” served my generation.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
I have been a Walter Dean Myers fan for a very long time. I loved MOTOWN AND DEE DEE years ago and have never found a Myers book that I didn’t think was a substantial contribution to YA literature. MONSTER is a particularly moving novel of good and bad and how they too often overlap and become confused especially for young adults living in unsafe urban areas. Myers wrote urban fiction before that was a catch phrase. MONSTER is almost impossible not to read in one sitting.
I can’t imagine MONSTER not appealing to young adults. It is young adult realistic fiction at its finest! MONSTER looks to be printed in Steve’s handwriting and the movie script and commentary appear to be typed which is a very novel looking script for today’s young people. From movie script to journal entries and back again the dialog and narrative flow like a bestseller but there is more depth here than many adult novels currently on the New York Times bestseller list! Steve has never been known to be a violent or tempestuous young man. Neither has he been considered a coward.
I am not usually a bleeding heart regarding crime but I cannot understand how a young man who doesn’t shoot, rob, or kill a man during a burglary could possibly get the death penalty. His attorney is concerned as the trial goes on that Steve begins to look more and more like the young African American witnesses who have done jail time for numerous offenses and are testifying in the trial. Criminals are turning state’s evidence to help their own case which is a common occurrence and problem in our criminal justice system.
I realize that MONSTER is an eight year old but it seems to me just the book that our young African American males need to read today. Males we are loosing to the criminal justice system day after day. This is a book that famous African American men from different parts of the spectrum would applaud in my estimation. Yes, there may be things that Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Bill Cosby could agree upon.
Myers deftly builds up and fleshes out his characters. Steve and his attorney, a white female named O’Brien are written about with an eye for detail and nuance. Steve becomes very real after a few short pages. We root for him. We are scared for him. We want to cry for him and I believe many young people can relate to him. His age will appeal to young readers and the mugshot cover will as well.
Following are some of my favorite excerpts from the novel. All of these come from Steve’s diary. “They take away your shoelaces and your belt so you can’t kill yourself no matter how bad it is. I guess making you live is part of the punishment.” (Myers, page 18)
“Miss O’Brien—I didn’t see her looking at me but I knew she was. She wanted to know who I was. Who was Steve Harmon? I wanted to open my shirt and tell her to look into my heart to see who I really was, who the real Steve Harmon was.” (Myers, page 92.)
“That’s what I was thinking about, what was in and what that made me. I’m just not a bad person. I know that in my heart I am NOT a bad person.” (Myers, page 93.)
Steve is having stomach problems quite often. He just can’t get use to using the bathroom in from of everyone.
“I’ve never seen my father cry before. He wasn’t crying like I thought a man would cry. Everything was just pouring out of him and I hated to see his face. What did I do? WHAT DID I DO? Anybody can walk into a drug store and look around. Is that what I’m on trial for? I didn’t do nothing but everybody’s just messed up with the pain. I didn’t fight with Mr. Nesbitt. I didn’t take any money from him.”
D. REVIEW EXCERPTS:
Horn Book praises MONSTER: “Taylor-made for readers' theater, this book is a natural to get teens reading—and talking.
School Library Journal says, “
From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up-Steve Harmon, 16, is accused of serving as a lookout for a robbery of a Harlem drugstore. The owner was shot and killed, and now Steve is in prison awaiting trial for murder. From there, he tells about his case and his incarceration. Many elements of this story are familiar, but Myers keeps it fresh and alive by telling it from an unusual perspective. Steve, an amateur filmmaker, recounts his experiences in the form of a movie screenplay. His striking scene-by-scene narrative of how his life has dramatically changed is riveting. Interspersed within the script are diary entries in which the teen vividly describes the nightmarish conditions of his confinement. Myers expertly presents the many facets of his protagonist's character and readers will find themselves feeling both sympathy and repugnance for him. Steve searches deep within his soul to prove to himself that he is not the "monster" the prosecutor presented him as to the jury. Ultimately, he reconnects with his humanity and regains a moral awareness that he had lost
REVIEWS ACCESSED FROM:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780439272001&itm=2
and
http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Walter-Dean-Myers/dp/0064407314/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196930323&sr=1-2
CONNECTIONS:
If students have not read other Walter Dean Myers books I would certainly encourage them to do that. I have a feeling SCORPIONS would be a good mix as Myers’ next book for YAs to read. Victoria Hamilton has many noteworthy books and characters who happen to be African American. I would like to see a field trip to a jail for any child that is grade 4 or above
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
LS 5603 LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
Review of THE GIVER
A. Lowry, Lois. THE GIVER. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
B. Plot: The main character, Jonas, grows up in a quasi utopia where no one can think for themselves and “the rules” must always be followed. There is no crime, no love or sex between spouses, no variations in weather, no hills, no mountains. But there are good manners because everyone in the community is subservient to “The Elders” While no disease, no wars, no hurricanes may sound good what the citizens of this new world order give up are emotions, trust among family members, friends, and neighbors. Everyone wears identical clothing and has identical bikes to travel the community in. “The Receiver” is the most important member of the community. The only person who retains any memories of the former world, a world like you and I inhabit now. Jonas during the “Ceremony of 12s” learns he has been chosen to be the new “Receiver” which made the current “Receiver” become the giver. In the end Jonas and a young child escape and have a chance, at least, to find their way back into the real world.
C. Critical analysis:
THE GIVER is a very readable, approachable tale of science fiction. Lowry always tells a good tale and this title is no exception. She takes us into this “safe” and unchallenging life to make us think about what life would be like if everything were grey or white in color and you never even knew that colors existed. Lowry portrays a life where euthanasia for the old and the unhealthy or troublesome young is an everyday occurrence and members of the community think being “released” is a most wonderful thing. The characters are very well developed, especially those of Jonas and The Giver. Their relationship grows in a realistic way at a realistic pace. The two of them are the only citizens allowed privacy (the intercom can be turned off in the Giver’s compound.) permission to lie, and permission to be rude. They also have total access of all community and personal information about each citizen. Most important events like group ceremonies or releases are videotaped.
The book has a very nice flow about it. We are so pleased that Jonas and the Giver have a warm and mutually rewarding relationship that is first centered around their place in society but in the end is centered around creativity over neatness, love that is deep enough to be tough and realistic and at the same time sentimental. Jonas and the giver come to master that most human of all emotions, trust, reasoned, logical trust, based on experience and emotions.
There are many reasons that children will like the adventure of THE GIVER. Jonas, the protagonist is of middle school age and futuristic fiction is often popular among young people. In my experience girls don’t care much if the main character is male or female, but after Junie B. Jones in the kindergarten and 1st grade classroom, boys want to read about boys in the leading role. This would be an excellent volume to discuss with students as you read aloud. I can see the suspense building to a tremendous level if one or two chapters were read aloud after lunch each day. I expect many would try to check it out of the library media center so they wouldn’t have to wait until the next day to see what would happen.
One of the most wonderful parts of the book is when the Receiver tells of his love for his daughter who was to be the replacement Receiver, the post that Jonas holds now. Because of her father’s love for her he could not release all the painful memories to her as soon as he should have. But even the memories and experiences he shares with her make her beg for her “release.” She gives herself the injection of death and her name, Rosemary is never to spoken in this idyllicd world ever again. The dual systems of reality in the book that most people live and know as to the “truth” the Receivers, new, and old know and understand add depth. THE GIVER is a quick and provocative read. I would recommend to 3rd-4th graders through mature adults.
D. REVIEW EXCERPTS:
Amazon espouses, “In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy…Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.
Publisher’s Weekly pronounces, “
In the "ideal" world into which Jonas was born, everybody has sensibly agreed that well-matched married couples will raise exactly two offspring, one boy and one girl. These children's adolescent sexual impulses will be stifled with specially prescribed drugs; at age 12 they will receive an appropriate career assignment, sensibly chosen by the community's Elders. This is a world in which the old live in group homes and are "released"--to great celebration--at the proper time; the few infants who do not develop according to schedule are also "released," but with no fanfare. Lowry's development of this civilization is so deft that her readers, like the community's citizens, will be easily seduced by the chimera of this ordered, pain-free society. Until the time that Jonah begins training for his job assignment--the rigorous and prestigious position of Receiver of Memory--he, too, is a complacent model citizen. But as his near-mystical training progresses, and he is weighed down and enriched with society's collective memories of a world as stimulating as it was flawed, Jonas grows increasingly aware of the hypocrisy that rules his world. With a storyline that hints at Christian allegory and an eerie futuristic setting, this intriguing novel calls to mind John Christopher's Tripods trilogy and Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl. Lowry is once again in top form--raising many questions while answering few, and unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers.
E. REVIEWS ACCESSED FROM:
http://www.amazon.com/Giver-Lois-Lowry/dp/0440237688/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196833437&sr=1-1
F. CONNECTIONS: BRAVE NEW WORLD and ANIMAL FARM come instantly to mind. For younger children and looking from a different vantage point I am thinking about the relationship with Jonas and his little sister, The age and characteristics of the family make it similar in age with the hero of ZUCCINIHI by Barbara Delaney and her shy brother. Crescent Dragonwagon also has a great book about a brother and sister entitled, I HATE MY BROTHER HARRY.
A. Lowry, Lois. THE GIVER. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
B. Plot: The main character, Jonas, grows up in a quasi utopia where no one can think for themselves and “the rules” must always be followed. There is no crime, no love or sex between spouses, no variations in weather, no hills, no mountains. But there are good manners because everyone in the community is subservient to “The Elders” While no disease, no wars, no hurricanes may sound good what the citizens of this new world order give up are emotions, trust among family members, friends, and neighbors. Everyone wears identical clothing and has identical bikes to travel the community in. “The Receiver” is the most important member of the community. The only person who retains any memories of the former world, a world like you and I inhabit now. Jonas during the “Ceremony of 12s” learns he has been chosen to be the new “Receiver” which made the current “Receiver” become the giver. In the end Jonas and a young child escape and have a chance, at least, to find their way back into the real world.
C. Critical analysis:
THE GIVER is a very readable, approachable tale of science fiction. Lowry always tells a good tale and this title is no exception. She takes us into this “safe” and unchallenging life to make us think about what life would be like if everything were grey or white in color and you never even knew that colors existed. Lowry portrays a life where euthanasia for the old and the unhealthy or troublesome young is an everyday occurrence and members of the community think being “released” is a most wonderful thing. The characters are very well developed, especially those of Jonas and The Giver. Their relationship grows in a realistic way at a realistic pace. The two of them are the only citizens allowed privacy (the intercom can be turned off in the Giver’s compound.) permission to lie, and permission to be rude. They also have total access of all community and personal information about each citizen. Most important events like group ceremonies or releases are videotaped.
The book has a very nice flow about it. We are so pleased that Jonas and the Giver have a warm and mutually rewarding relationship that is first centered around their place in society but in the end is centered around creativity over neatness, love that is deep enough to be tough and realistic and at the same time sentimental. Jonas and the giver come to master that most human of all emotions, trust, reasoned, logical trust, based on experience and emotions.
There are many reasons that children will like the adventure of THE GIVER. Jonas, the protagonist is of middle school age and futuristic fiction is often popular among young people. In my experience girls don’t care much if the main character is male or female, but after Junie B. Jones in the kindergarten and 1st grade classroom, boys want to read about boys in the leading role. This would be an excellent volume to discuss with students as you read aloud. I can see the suspense building to a tremendous level if one or two chapters were read aloud after lunch each day. I expect many would try to check it out of the library media center so they wouldn’t have to wait until the next day to see what would happen.
One of the most wonderful parts of the book is when the Receiver tells of his love for his daughter who was to be the replacement Receiver, the post that Jonas holds now. Because of her father’s love for her he could not release all the painful memories to her as soon as he should have. But even the memories and experiences he shares with her make her beg for her “release.” She gives herself the injection of death and her name, Rosemary is never to spoken in this idyllicd world ever again. The dual systems of reality in the book that most people live and know as to the “truth” the Receivers, new, and old know and understand add depth. THE GIVER is a quick and provocative read. I would recommend to 3rd-4th graders through mature adults.
D. REVIEW EXCERPTS:
Amazon espouses, “In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy…Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.
Publisher’s Weekly pronounces, “
In the "ideal" world into which Jonas was born, everybody has sensibly agreed that well-matched married couples will raise exactly two offspring, one boy and one girl. These children's adolescent sexual impulses will be stifled with specially prescribed drugs; at age 12 they will receive an appropriate career assignment, sensibly chosen by the community's Elders. This is a world in which the old live in group homes and are "released"--to great celebration--at the proper time; the few infants who do not develop according to schedule are also "released," but with no fanfare. Lowry's development of this civilization is so deft that her readers, like the community's citizens, will be easily seduced by the chimera of this ordered, pain-free society. Until the time that Jonah begins training for his job assignment--the rigorous and prestigious position of Receiver of Memory--he, too, is a complacent model citizen. But as his near-mystical training progresses, and he is weighed down and enriched with society's collective memories of a world as stimulating as it was flawed, Jonas grows increasingly aware of the hypocrisy that rules his world. With a storyline that hints at Christian allegory and an eerie futuristic setting, this intriguing novel calls to mind John Christopher's Tripods trilogy and Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl. Lowry is once again in top form--raising many questions while answering few, and unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers.
E. REVIEWS ACCESSED FROM:
http://www.amazon.com/Giver-Lois-Lowry/dp/0440237688/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196833437&sr=1-1
F. CONNECTIONS: BRAVE NEW WORLD and ANIMAL FARM come instantly to mind. For younger children and looking from a different vantage point I am thinking about the relationship with Jonas and his little sister, The age and characteristics of the family make it similar in age with the hero of ZUCCINIHI by Barbara Delaney and her shy brother. Crescent Dragonwagon also has a great book about a brother and sister entitled, I HATE MY BROTHER HARRY.
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