Osvaldo Cruz, a Latino gang member also implicated in the crime, explains that he was pressured to participate in the robbery due to threats by Richard “Bobo” Evans.
Some of the accounts suggest that Steve and James barely know one another, while others show James alleging that Steve was the gunman in the robbery. The trial proceedings are interrupted by a series of snippets that explore the relationship between Steve and James. As the trial progresses, more witnesses are called to the stand. The use of the word “monster” references the novel’s title and its overall thematic significance. In her opening statement, she brands the accused men as “monsters” for the crimes they’ve committed. Steve and James are cross-examined by Sandra Petrocelli, the State Prosecutor. Both Steve and James King, another man allegedly involved in the murder, have entered a plea bargain and must testify in court. Steve’s lawyer, Kathy O’Brien, coaches him on what to expect during his court hearing. As a coping mechanism, Steve records his daily life in the format of a film script. He writes in his diary to pass the time, chronicling his observations and anxieties while imprisoned. At the beginning of the novel, the reader learns that Steve is in prison awaiting trial for his alleged involvement in a murder. Steve Harmon, the novel’s protagonist-and, at times, its narrator-is a sixteen-year-old African-American student from Harlem.
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