What if you were 16, on trial for being a robbery look-out gone wrong, and the prosecutor labeled you a ‘monster’ to your jury?  Walter Dean Myers went inside the head of a high school kid in his novel for young people, Monster.  The story is told as a film script, using Steven Harmon’s high-school class experience in filmmaking.  The novel reads fast, interspersed with thick-penciled diary entries and mug shots.

You will read a script text of Harmon’s reaction to his initial booking, his fears inside the cells, his confusion about trial tactics, his depression and guilt.   The book feels real;  you will not remember that au author other than Harmon has written it.  A nice touch:  was Harmon ‘guilty’ or ‘really guilty’ of this crime?  Are there degrees of guilt?  Was the jury verdict one you agree with? Expected?

Read a full review at “Other Books,” this page.