Monster by Walter Dean Meyers

Release Date: May 8th, 2001 (Paperback)

Publisher: Amistad Press

Pages: 281

Age Group: 14+

Genre: Crime/Realistic Fiction

Cover Love: 5/5

Rating: 3/5 Stars

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Disappointment is a crushing feeling, and it felt like Monster had forced me to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. It wasn't that it was bad, but, unfortunately, it wasn't the greatest either.

It just looked so GOOD. Why wasn't it better?
PRO'S:

Walter Dean Myers had a perfect set up for a story. There was crime, there was mystery, there was diversity (our literacy unit), and, most of all, it was in a movie script. (AWESOME!) There's even illustrations, and notes. If you haven't read Regarding the Fountain by Kate Klise, you should. (Totally different topic, but same idea with the mixing media.) The first few pages were pretty good, if you weren't reading it as if you were playing staccato. (My reference to how slow our class was reading our books.) But from there, it goes downhill.
CON'S: 

It's just so BORING. I mean, you already know that someone killed someone (though there is some controversy whether Steve helped or not.) And come on, it was only a matter of time before they gave that person a verdict of guilty. It was also really really really confusing. When I realized the character Briggs was a man, I freaked out. He was seriously sounding woman-ish before Walter Dean Myers used the words 'he.'

The ending WAS THE WORST PART. You expect some dramatic soap opera thingy (like Steve getting a sentence of guilty) but that never happens. NEVER.

Uh. The weight is getting heavier.

So, if you were looking for some inspirational heavy stuff, don't go for Monster. It's good, but not that good.

Maybe we could classify it as dark, heavy fluff. Yes. So if you need some of that, go for it.