The question of race even comes up when Steve’s mother comes to visit him in jail. This story does not speak of police brutality, but it does in fact display the vulnerability of Black men in the eyes of the law. Though this book was written in 1999, I still believe that the events in this story are similar to the struggles that young Black men face in the judicial system. Though Steve is very hesitant at first, he eventually agrees to the plan.

It was at this moment when he asked Steve if he was willing to be the lookout. He tells Steve that he knows where the “payday” is, and that robbing the bank will be a sure “get over”. Though Steve and James’s trial lasts throughout the entire story, James’s plot to rob the convenience store wasn’t revealed until the middle of the book. However, Steve is only supposed to serve as the “lookout”, and make sure that no one was in the store once the robbery took place. Steve, along with James King, Richard “Bobo” Evans, and Osvaldo Cruz are all involved in a big scheme to rob a convenience store as a way of getting some extra cash. As he embarks on this chapter of his life, Steve reflects back on the decisions that he’s made, and he struggles to hold on to every ounce of hope that he can find. As he sits in his jail cell, he uses his time in bondage to imagine every event as a part of his film. Over the course of the book, Steve is recording his situation as a “movie”. Though Steve was not actually responsible for the owner’s death, the fact that he was still involved in the robbery still brings his innocence into question.

Due to the incident, Steve has been placed on trial, and could possibly be facing twenty-five years to life. The story revolves around sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon, a young African-American youth who was involved in the robbery of a convenience store, which resulted in the owner’s death. Walter Dean Myers’s young adult novel known as Monster, is a suspenseful and intense story that will have you on the edge of your seat.

Steve harmon monster book