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Myers, W. D. (1999). //Monster//. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

//Monster// is a book that is told in a mixture of screenplay and diary format about a boy named Steve Harman. Steve is a sixteen year old African American male that lives in Harlem, New York. Steve is on trial for murder, a store owner was shot and they are not sure if Steve helped the others or was he the one that did the shooting. //Monster// has many twists and turns in the book pertaining to Steve. The prosecution thinks Steve is a killer, calling him a monster. The defense which is led by Kathy O'Brien, tries to convince the jury that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. The problem with Mrs. O'Brien is that she isn't all that sure that Steve is innocent. Some of the things that Steve reveals to her isn't the truth. The reader catches even more mistakes that Steve makes when he tries to convince the reader of his innocence. The reader has much to consider at the end of the book, is Steve innocent or is he guilty and trying not to spend the rest of his life behind bars. The reader will observe at the end of the book about the jury giving a verdict of not guilty, but at the end of the book when Steve is talking to his father, the reader notices that his father doesn't believe his innocence which leaves the reader with many questions. Even though //Monster// is on the banned book list, students from middle school and high school could benefit from this book. This book is on the banned book list for vulgar language, sexual situations and violent imagery. Yes, it is true that //Monster// contains these issues but, it has so much more for students to learn from. As far as the issues they have with the book, most kids today see all of this on TV, not to mention the students that would read this book have played video games with much more graphic imagery of violence and sexual content. The book offers a different perspective of a life of an inner city African American young adult who experiences peer pressure from older kids. This could help many young adults that read this book about the consequences that happen if you get caught up with the wrong crowd. Steve also offers hope to a neighborhood that society has let slip away. He has the support of one of his teachers that supports his innocence and believes in him.
 * SUMMARY**
 * CRITIQUE**


 * CONTENT AREA**
 * Social Studies:**
 * Have students conduct a trial stating if the King of England during the Revolutionary War was justified in raising taxes to the colonies.
 * Take the students to the local court house so they can view a trial first hand.
 * English:**
 * You could have a discussion about whether this book should be on the banned book list or not. If so, why?
 * You could have discussions about the imagery of the book and how does it play a vital role in telling the story.
 * You could also compare //Monster// to other books such as //The Body of Christopher Creed// and talk about the stereotypes of both books. You could also compare and contrast both books.
 * Science:**
 * You could have a police officer come out and explain some of the evidence that cases like Steve's in //Monster// involves. The officer would explain all the science that comes into play when determining the evidence.
 * You could conduct an experiment with elements. You could say one element committed a crime and have the students split up into groups and test some elements and find out which one is guilty.
 * Math**:
 * You could collect data of crimes that happened in Harlem from 1990 to 2011 and make a line graph containing the results of your findings.
 * After you have the results from you line graph, you could make a pie chart of the most violent years.