1. Monster Book By Walter Dean Myers Book Report By Alexa Lomberg
Realistic Fiction

2. Plot Diagram

3. Basic Situation
Steve Harmon is an African American 16 year old boy on trial for felony murder of Alguinaldo Nesbitt. He is stationed at the Manhattan Detention Center and his trial starts tomorrow. Kathy O’Brien is his lawyer and the other men on trial for this murder are James King and Richard “BoBo” Evans.

4. Conflict
The problem is that if Steve is proved guilty he can face a life in prison. The jury is judging him as a rowdy teenager who deserves to be put in prison, and is not seeing his side in the case.

5. Rising Action
In the beginning Steve is very nervous about being on trial and having to go to court. Steve then decides to write his life out as a movie. He has close-ups, voice over, cuts, and middle shots. This is how the whole book is written. On the first few days of trial Steve is not very noticeable and mainly James King is being interviewed. Right now King hold the blame for shooting the victim.
Example:
“FADE OUT as last prisoner from the van enters rear of courthouse.
FADE IN: INTERIOR COURTHOUSE. WE are in a small room used for prisoner-lawyer interviews. A guard sits at a desk behind STEVE….
O’BRIEN
Let me make…….”(Myers 12).

6. Rising Action
Next, one positive event happens in Steve’s favor. Steve was supposed to be the lookout for James King while he was to rob the store and there was no signal. The point O'Brien makes now that is because there was no signal Steve could have been any ordinary man walking past this store the day of the murder. On top of that, there was someone in the store who was used as a witness later in this case. She testified to have not seeing Steve involved with the murder. But after all this evidence the jury continues to ignore Steve's supposed innocence.

7. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Was Steve Harmon really involved with the murder or not?
Does he face life in prison or does the judge declare him innocent?

8. Why I Recommend This Novel
I recommend this novel because it is written in a very unique style that you will not get bored of. This book is also full of suspense and you want to see what happens at the end. Lastly, this novel does not have a normal ending that you would expect, but it is a very good ending.

9. Theme
The central theme of the novel Monster by Walter Dean Myers is people tend to judge you by first appearance, but never give up proving who you really are.

10. Other Books By Walter Dean Myers
Shooter
Slam