Monster – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Monster

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

book2001

82%

WISE Score

4.5

Amazon

A teen on trial for murder writes his story as a screenplay—innovative, gut-wrenching, and impossible to put down.

Monster

book

2001

82%

WISE Score

4.5

Amazon

A teen on trial for murder writes his story as a screenplay—innovative, gut-wrenching, and impossible to put down.

4.5

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Screenwise Verdict

Monster is the real deal—award-winning YA lit that doesn't talk down to teens. The screenplay format is genuinely innovative (this was groundbreaking in 1999 and still feels fresh), and Myers's refusal to give easy answers about Steve's guilt is what makes this book stick with you years later.

Yes, it's heavy. Yes, it deals with murder, prison, racism, and the ways the system can chew up Black teenagers. But it's not gratuitous—every difficult moment serves the story. And the ambiguity is the point: you're supposed to struggle with whether Steve is telling the truth, just like he's struggling with his own identity.

This is the kind of book that sparks real conversations and builds genuine empathy and critical thinking. It's been assigned in schools for two decades because it works. Just make sure your teen is ready for the emotional weight—this isn't trauma porn, but it's not light either.

Age Fit

Best for ages 13 and up who are ready for mature themes about justice, race, and moral complexity. This isn't a beach read—it's challenging literature that asks hard questions and doesn't provide easy answers. Strong readers in 7th-8th grade and up will get the most out of it.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

The book tackles difficult moral questions about identity, justice, and the criminal system with nuance. Steve's internal struggle is emotionally honest without being gratuitously dark. The screenplay format creates distance that helps teens process heavy themes. However, the prison setting, cynicism of authority figures, and moral ambiguity mean this isn't light fare—it's wholesome in the sense that it treats teen readers as capable of wrestling with hard truths, not in the sense of being comforting.

Imaginative

Myers's choice to tell the story as a screenplay-within-a-novel is genuinely innovative for YA lit in 1999. The format invites readers to think about perspective, storytelling, and how we construct our own narratives. Steve's use of filmmaking as a coping mechanism models creative expression as a way to process trauma. The blurred reality—where Steve himself loses track of truth—is sophisticated narrative craft that respects teen intelligence.

Safe

This is a book about a murder trial set in prison. There's violence (a drugstore owner is shot and killed), references to sexual content and drugs, and the psychological weight of a teen facing life in prison. Common Sense Media parent reviews note 'violence, blood, disturbing images, and implied sexual content.' That said, it's not gratuitous—everything serves the story. For a teen deliberately choosing this book, it's appropriately challenging. But it's not something you'd hand a 10-year-old without serious conversation.

Enriching

This is a National Book Award Finalist, Printz Award winner, and Coretta Scott King Honor Book for good reason. It forces readers to grapple with systemic racism, the criminal justice system, moral responsibility, and the gap between who we are and how we're perceived. The ambiguity about Steve's guilt or innocence is intentional—Myers makes readers do the hard work of thinking. It builds empathy, critical thinking, and media literacy (the screenplay format itself is a lesson in how stories shape perception). This is literature that stays with you.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

The screenplay format is brilliant—it creates emotional distance while pulling you deeper into Steve's psychological unraveling
Won the Printz Award and was a National Book Award Finalist for good reason: this is YA literature that respects teen intelligence
Forces readers to grapple with real questions about justice, race, identity, and whether we can ever really know the truth
Walter Dean Myers doesn't give easy answers—the ambiguity about Steve's guilt or innocence is the point, and it'll fuel great discussions
Models creative expression as a coping mechanism: Steve processes trauma by turning it into art

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What to Watch For

This is heavy: a 16-year-old facing life in prison, violence, death, and the brutality of the criminal justice system
The moral ambiguity is intentional but can be unsettling—you never get a clear answer about what Steve did or didn't do
References to drugs, implied sexual content, and prison violence (not graphic, but present)
Some readers find the screenplay format hard to follow at first, though most adjust quickly

Conversation Starters

"Do you think Steve is guilty? What evidence makes you think that? Did your opinion change as you read?"
"Why do you think Steve chose to write his story as a movie screenplay instead of just telling it normally?"
"The prosecutor calls Steve a 'monster.' Do you think that's fair? Can someone be a good person who made a terrible choice?"
"How do you think Steve's race affected his trial? Would things have been different if he looked different?"
"If you were on the jury, what would your verdict be? What would you need to know to be sure?"

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