Monster

Monster, a YA novel about a Black New York teenager accused of murder, quickly became one of Walter Dean Myers's most acclaimed works when it was published in 1999, winning the Coretta Scott King Award, receiving the Prime Excellence Award of the American Library Association, named a National Book Award Finalist.

The completion and release of the novel occurred during the arc of the conviction and eventual exoneration of the Central Park 5, Black teenagers who were wrongfully accused of attacking a white female jogger in 1990, then released in 2002. The focus on a young man accused of a serious crime suggests a parallel, yet Monster is intentionally ambiguous regarding the guilt or innocence of the protagonist.

The 20th anniversary edition from Harper Teen, upon which this summary is based, includes several extra features, including a study guide and a candid interview with Myers. Readers should be aware that the text contains adult language. There are references and depictions of gun and physical violence, drug use, and sexual assault.

Plot Summary

Myers alternates between different points of view and genres of literature. Chronologically, the narrative starts with the main character, 16-year-old Steve Harmon, a Black high school student from Harlem who is incarcerated in the Manhattan Detention Center waiting to go on trial for murder.

Harmon introduces himself in the first person, journaling about the hell of being locked up, his constant fear, and the ways he has had to adapt to avoid physical and sexual assault. Steve’s escape from the surreal experience of jail is through imagining that he, a film student, is depicting events as a movie. Thus, much of the novel is presented in the form of a third person screenplay. Using an opening credit montage, Steve introduces the other main players in the movie: Kathy O’Brien, his defense attorney; Sandra Petrocelli, the prosecutor; James King, his co-defendant and the person accused of shooting Mr. Nesbitt, the drug store owner; Bobo Evans and Osvaldo Cruz, witnesses who have turned State’s evidence to avoid lengthy jail sentences.

Myers does not use chapters for breaks, instead cutting back and forth between the ongoing trial and previous events in Steve’s life that pertain to what is currently happening.

Before presenting evidence against the defendants, the prosecutor calls a series of witnesses to demonstrate how the police came to identify the suspects in the case. The defense attorneys (Kathy for Steve and Asa Briggs for James King) point out to the jury that witnesses against their clients have something to gain by presenting evidence against King and Steve. Privately, Kathy expresses concern that the prosecutor is working slyly to make Steve appear to be a stereotypical delinquent.

While the trial progresses, Steve catches glimpses of ordinary New York life entering and leaving court. He also remembers and longs for the life he had before he was locked up and has suicidal thoughts.

Flashbacks presented as scenes in his screenplay show Steve interacting with others who end up being involved in the trial. King approaches Steve to serve as a lookout for him and Bobo when they rob Mr. Nesbitt’s drugstore. In that pivotal flashback, King pressures Steve to enter the drugstore, check to make sure there are no police or customers inside, and signal as he leaves the store that it is clear of other patrons. Pointedly, the scene ends without Steve saying whether he will do so.

In the courtroom scenes, the prosecution ties its case together through the testimony of Bobo, who has taken a plea bargain for a lesser charge and a shorter sentence. Following Bobo’s testimony, Kathy is concerned that the jury is against Steven. She tells him he must testify and calls a very effective character witness, Mr. Sawicki, the teacher who runs the video club to which Steve belongs.

Steve and King are celled together as they await the verdict. King expresses bravado, while Steve admits that he is frightened. After deliberating, the jury returns a verdict of guilty for King, who is promptly led out of court. Steve is found not guilty. Elated, he opens his arms to embrace Kathy, who turns away.

In a final journal entry, Steve describes what his life has become after his acquittal. His thoughts are still haunted by his seven months in prison and even more by the accusation of the prosecutor that he is a monster. He continues to film himself as a form of self-evaluation, trying to determine what kind of a person he truly is.