Monster summer entry #4

          The first thing that caught my eye when I was looking for a summer reading book was definitely the title, Monster.  For the title being only one word, it really got my attention. On the cover, Monster, is written in all caps and creates a dark and suspenseful feeling to the book before I even started reading the book. The first connection I made to my book is that I am almost the same age as Steve Harmon.  He is already 16 and I’m 15.  Another personal connection that I can make is that Steve always kept faith in himself no matter how bad things got and that’s something I have to do when I am in tough situation.

I really liked Monster by Walter Dean Myers and I definitely would recommend it to most of my friends.  Especially to my friends that have an interest in someday working in the court system; such as becoming a lawyer.  Honestly, I would recommend this to almost anyone in my grade because most of us are almost 16 or turning 16 which is the same age as the main character, Steve Harmon. Overall I very much enjoyed reading this book as my summer novel.

Monster summer entry #3

“I know she thinks I’m guilty.  I can feel it when we sit together on the bench they have assigned for us.  She writes down what is being said, and what is being said about me, and she adds it all up to guilty.  “I’m not guilty,” I said to her.  “”You should have said ‘I didn’t do it,’” she said.  “I didn’t do it,” I said.”(Myers 138).

            This quote is the dialogue between Steve Harmon and his attorney, Kathy O’Brien.  At the beginning of this quote from my book Steve is saying that he doesn’t trust his attorney. This is because he just doesn’t feel that she believes that Steve is actually innocent.  The next part of the quote is when Steve states that he is not guilty.  However Mrs. O’Brien says that saying he is not guilty is not the same as saying that he did not commit the crime that he is now being tried for.  As I read this line the first time I didn’t really understand why this mattered so much. If you think about it a little though it starts to make sense of what the difference between saying, “I’m not guilty,” and “I didn’t do it”.  The main difference between these two phrases is the confidence that you need to have to say I didn’t do it.  However, in the long run from Steve’s point of view he is being wrongly convicted of this crime.

Monster summer entry #2

           Monster by Walter Dean Myers is structured in an extraordinary way.  First of all, Monster is written in first person.  Also the book is written as a play of the life of the main character Steve Harmon as he goes through the life changing conflict of being framed for murder as the story unravels and evolves.  On each page of the book it is split up into different paragraphs for each person that is talking. You always know who is talking because to the side of each of those paragraphs is the name of the character that is speaking.  Another thing about my book that is different than any other book I have ever read is that because it is written as a play in bold it has the movement of the camera.

            In the book Monster the main character, Steve Harmon, has the desire for justice!  He does not want to be wrongly convicted of something that he never did.  Kathy O’Brien, who is also a major character that that I have mentioned in my last post. She is the attorney of Steve and she wants the case to be judged fairly. In the book it stated that she wanted Steve to be innocent until proven guilty not guilty until proven innocent. Osvaldo Cruz wants to be given a deal from the police to get less jail time. The prosecutor in the book, Sandra Petrocelli, has the desire to do her job in making the right decision and to be fair. James King the other thug wants to be set free of all charges of the crime.

            A major theme in my book is all things happen for a reason and everyone should have the right to get a second chance.   

Monster Summer Entry 1

         This summer I have chosen to read Monster written by Walter Dean Myers.  The main character of my book is Steve Harmon.  The book is written from the perspective of Steve while he is on trial for murder. Another major character is Kathy O’Brien.  Kathy O’Brien is the Attorney of Steve Harmon in the court trial.  James King is the other person that is on trial with Steve at the same time for the same crime.  A witness in the case is Osvaldo Cruz. The head prosecutor in the case is named Sandra Petrocelli. Sandra Petrocelli will determine if Steve Harmon and James King will go to jail and how long.  Relating back to the title of the book, Monster, Steve states that Petrocelli says, “I’ll call it what the lady who is the prosecutor called me. MONSTER” (Myers 5). 
         The setting of this book is at the court and of Steve in jail as he is being tried for murder. There is one major conflict in the book, which is Steve Harmon is being wrongly convicted of murder in an unfair trial case.  This is a major struggle for Steve as I progress in the book especially because he is only 16 years old! Which is truly amazing because that means that he is only one year older than me and is away from his home, parents, and friends as he is going through the toughest time in his life. A text to text connection that I can make is that this book is a lot like Scorpia in the Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz.  These two books are alike because in both of them the main character is going through a rough time with little to no support. Will Steve Harmon be convicted of murder? Will he be given the death penalty? Is Osvaldo Cruz lying?  What is Steve’s side of the story of what happened on the day of the Murder? 

Final Blogging Assessment

I think that my best post that exemplifies voice is my second post. This post was the “Why I Chose this Book”. My voice in this piece was laid-back, but had some seriousness. Some specific words and phrases that demonstrate my writing voice include, “about the OSU Buckeyes I think I will be able to get through it” (McCormick 1). This quote shows the relaxed voice in the piece because it says that I think that I will be able to get through the book because I don’t like the Buckeyes. Another relaxed quote from my book is, “not so nice words” (McCormick 1), instead of just saying bad language. However, in this post there was also some elevated diction such as; “hilarious”, “prestigious”, and “deeper”. These words are used to create a higher understanding of what is happening in the book. This showcases my personality by give the post a stronger meaning.

In this post I made the choice of using elevated diction and using purposeful punctuation. I used elevated diction to create some seriousness to my post. In the post it says, “one of the most prestigious colleges in America” (McCormick 1). In this quote the use of elevated diction creates a bigger emphasis on what Mark has lost by not playing in the first half. Also, in this post I chose to using different punctuation to enhance my voice in the piece. In the text it states, "(Go Hoosiers!)" (McCormick 1). In this single quote I used an exclamation point and parentheses. The parentheses create a greater understanding and a little bit of extra info. The exclamation point is just to show that I really like the Indiana Hoosiers by making emphasis.

Don't Put Me In, Coach (#7 recommendation)

My book is Don't Put Me In, Coach by Mark Titus. Overall this is an excellent book. I would give this book a 9 out of 10. It has good humor, and is very easy to relate to. This book is about a college basketball player that walked on the OSU basketball team and sat on the bench all 4 years. Don't Put Me in, Coach shares all of Mark's fun times of being a division one basketball player. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes basketball or want to read something funny and sports related. I loved this book and I think you will too.

Don't Put Me in, Coach (#6 What does the work tell us about how people behave?)

This books tells us that people, especially college kids love to have fun. Major emphasis on "love to have fun". However, there are also times, especially in the heat of a college basketball game that things get pretty serious. So the message that I am getting from this book is that there are times to have fun and there are times to be serious. in this book Mark is always talking about how he likes to keep the team loose when they are of the court and just hanging around. I think that at least 60% plus or minus of the book isn't even about playing basketball. Overall the story has to be the best non-fiction books that I have ever read so far.

Don't Put Me In, Coach (#5 The author's writing purpose)

I think Mark Titus's purpose of writing this book is to entertain. He is entertaining the readers by sharing his experiences of playing D1 college basketball. This book's attended audience people that like basketball of like OSU. The reason I am reading this book is because it is a true story about basketball and I like to play and watch basketball. Mark Titus is entertaining the readers by telling them a little about what goes on behind the scenes. This keeps me fully engaged in the book. Also, this book can be really serious and then super sarcastic the next page just like that. Overall I think Mark Titus keeps the reader's entertained very well.

Don't Put Me In, Coach (#4 Worst thing about my book)

The worst thing about my book is that it is an autobiography over only a few years of his life. This makes it harder to see how the other characters change throughout the book. This is because it is hard to see the other characters point of view on different parts of the book. Don't put me in coach is only from the point of view of Mark Titus from the end of the bench. That is why this book is like no other basketball book. Most books on basketball are about teamwork and one player in particular that is outstanding. Also there is not much change in Mark, the main character. This is because right on the cover it says "From the end of the bench to the end of the bench".

Don't Put Me In, Coach (#3 Best thing about my book)

The best things about my book are that it has good humor and the book is written in 2nd person at times. The point of view, 2nd person, is used when the author is talking straight to the reader. This point of view consists of words such as you and yourself. A quote in my book that is in 2nd person is "So yeah, put the book down and go watch the video if you haven't seen it before"(Titus 69). At this time in the book it was talking about when Ron Lewis hit a buzzer beater 3 pointer to go to overtime against Xavier in the 2nd round of the 2007 NCAA Division 1 Basketball Tourney. In overtime OSU went onto win the game 78-71. Below there is a video of the last minutes in this game.



 

This is just one of the many examples that Mark Titus writes in 2nd person. By writing in 2nd person it is easier to make connections to the book and to the author.