Hey Vincent,
how are you doing? I just have to do some homework for english because we have to build up a website about the book "monster". At first I give you a short summary of the book:

Summary of Monster by Walter Dean Myers
The Novel "Monster" by Walter Dyan Myers is a story about a joung black called Steven Harmon , who lives in Harlem and is on trial for felony murder. Moreover his friend James King is also on trial with him , because King and another guy called Bobo robbed the drugstore and killed the owner, Mr. Nesbitt. Nevertheless the state doesn't accuse Bobo with them , because he testifies against King and Steve to get a break , and he says that Steve was the lookout for them. On the one hand Bobo and some other witnesses testify against Steve , which makes him look guilty but on the other hand he always tells you in his letters that he was only accidently there and has nothing to do with the murder. Furthermore he explains his feelings in his letters and the miserable conditions in the jail, and how much he hates to be there. In the end the Jury turns the verdicts and acquit Steve of being not guilty and King is convicted of the crime and gets in jail.

So , what do you think about the book ? In general it's about making yourself a decision if Steve is guilty or innocent.
So, just write what do you think of the book. thx Chri

I would certainly try to avoid being influenced by his personal experiences and feelings about the prison when developing my own opinion whether he is guilty or not. Although, you might be able to use the information given by Steve's letters about his experiences in prison to write something about the conditions in american prisons and the effect it may have on his future life. Another thing which intrigues me is the fact that Bobo testifies against Steve to get himself out of trouble; is there
anything said in the book about how Bobo copes with the psychological consequences of being responsible for the imprisoning of a person who had
done nothing wrong? In the end I think the book might explain to everybody living in america (and maybe other countries too) how easy it is to get into prison, even if being innocent.