Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, is a realistic fiction novel about a teenager who is charged with felony murder. The main character, Steve, is abruptly put into prison because he is accused of being part of a plan that went wrong and accidentally killed a store owner. Steve continuously tries to explain to the judge and the jury that he wasn't present at the time of the crime, but because of racial injustice and the people he hangs out with, they find it nearly impossible that he is innocent. This book shows the entire process of the case in much detail with some plot twists.
Overall, I loved this book, especially because of how it was written. The novel’s structure is mostly written as a movie script but it features moments where it is written like a personal journal. I think the only problem I had with this book was trying to differentiate the characters in the beginning, but I quickly learned them. The cover, I felt, was a little plain but it perfectly captures the book’s plot. Overall, I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars