Peter Tarkoy

Peter Tarkoy
Monster
Walter Dean Myers
Mystery Novel
Just Right

Pg. 113

1. Right now, I have just started the book. In the beginning, you read what one could call a diary about what he is doing in jail, and why he was put into jail. You also read about his how he says he feels before the big trial that will determine whether he is guilty or not. Then, he says he wants to write a script for a movie about his life after he was arrested and the trail. He was in the court and the prosecution had some very covincing evidence so far. They have used witnesses to try to convince the jury, but they weren't really concrete to me. (Some witnesses wanted to get a break, so they could've lied to the police about the information they knew)
2. I feel very good about this book so far, I really love it. I really love the layout of it, with the "movie script"thing going on. It helps because it doesn't go into boring detail, it is just very direct and to the point. I like this book because when he goes off to other "chapters" where he writes about his life in prison (separate from the movie-script). He describes how he is nervous and how he is scared about the trial. I like that the book is never boring because something is always happening, and when nothing happens, they take a break and go over to the diary.
3. An obvious theme I have noticed in this book is lying. I see this theme mostly in the court where the prosecution examines the witnesses. In previous attempts to get clear evidence, the prosecution found that one of their own witnesses was lying. This affects the the entire court case, not just the characters, because it determines what happens later in the book.
4. My favorite character is Steve Harmon, the man they refer to as "Monster". I like him because I truly believe he is innocent and I am on his side. I also like how he directs his movie by using different descriptions for how the scene should be set up.
5. My least favorite character(s) are the prosecution because I don't like how they are aggressive and they don't really know for sure, but they think they do, whether this man is innocent. They could be trying to send an innocent man to jail, only because they are told to do so, which I don't think is right.
6. My prediction isn't very interesting: I think that they will prove the "Monster" innocent because of some huge 180 spin in the middle of the book.