Hello, I'm Richard Nimz, prospector of the written word and literary explorer extraordinaire. Like last week, I'm focusing on a less mainstream award. This time, it's the Michael L. Printz Award, actually a series of awards given out for literary excellence in teen literature or related fields. In an interesting twist, the book I'm reviewing was written by a ten-time Coretta Scott King honoree/award-winner (eleven counting his lifetime achievement award). The book: Monster by Walter Dean Myers, winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award in 2000.
Citation: Myers, Walter Dean (2001). Monster. New York City: HarperTempest.
Summary: Aspiring teenage filmmaker Steve Harmon is arrested one day for participating in a robbery that led to a murder. Now facing the possibility of life in prison, Steve already has jury opinion stacked against him for being young, black, and most importantly, on trial at all. What follows is a part-screenplay, part-diary of his trial and the events that led up to his arrest. No-one is sure how it will end, but it doesn't look good.
Impressions: This was pretty good. Actually, it was really good. It was quite an eye-opening look into the court system, from actually getting arrested to the trial itself. Both Steve and the ringleader for the robbery have their own defense attorneys going up against the state prosecutor, but while one attorney is trying to acquit them both, Steve's is trying to distance Steve from the robber/murderer. We don't know whether or not Steve actually participated in the robbery, but I still liked him, mainly because of what he was going through. My only real complaint is the screenplay portion of the book. Steve's film teacher calls him gifted, but I doubt that I'd be watching the film he wrote. Basically, as Tammy L. Currier wrote: "Filled with ambiguity, this fast-paced nail-biter will have you at the edge of your seat unable to put it down. Perfect for teens and adults alike, MONSTER raises interesting questions about the path to crime and our judicial and prison systems."
Use: This would easily find good use as a guide for young people on why to stay out of prison (and hopefully to obey the law). If the city wanted to do a 'scare 'em straight' day to keep people from offending, this book would be on the top of the list of books to be read out loud and in detail. Not as effective as an actual visit to a prison, but whatever I can do...
Sources: Currier, Tammy L. (21 Apr, 1999) Monster | Teenreads. teenreads. Retrieved from http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/monster-0
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