Reading Update: Monster by Walter Dean Myers

This is one quick read. I literally read it in about two hours on a wintry January night. For those reluctant readers, especially those middle school boys, who might be in your classroom, this would be a great pick. It's short, it's intense, and it has a strong message.

Steve Harmon is a 16-year-old accused of murder, and the book starts with him sitting in a jail cell preparing for his trial and it ends with the outcome of the trial - which I won't give away.

The format of the story is a film script, which I can't say I enjoyed. I found the camera angles and "stage directions" distracting, and I found myself skimming these lines to get back to the plot. I could see some middle schoolers struggling with these excerpts and finding them distracting, too.

The book would fit well into a unit about identity or truth. There is some language in the book that could raise concern, so I would clear it with the admin and get parent permission if you make it a required reading in your class.