Both you and this King character are on trial for felony murder. KATHY O’BRIEN, STEVE’s lawyer, is all business as she talks to STEVE.O’BRIENLet me make sure you understand what’s going on. I'll call it what the lady prosecutor called me.Monster.FADE IN: INTERIOR COURT.
Was he involved or was he simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? An amateur filmmaker, Steve transcribes his trial into a movie script, showing scene by scene how his life was turned around in an instant.FADE IN: INTERIOR: Early morning in CELL BLOCK D, MANHATTAN DETENTION CENTER.Steve (Voice-Over): Sometimes I feel like I have walked into the middle of a movie. "This memoir joins the ranks of stellar literary autobiographies, such as Fleischman's Abracadabra Kid and Zindel's Pigman and Me.BONUS FEATURE: Afterword read by the authorA Harlem drugstore owner was shot and killed in his store, and the word is that 16-year-old Steve Harmon served as the lookout. "Many of the individual scenes have power.and the author's voice and heart are consistently heard and felt throughout."-The Horn Book Will make the reader laugh out loud & sigh with satisfaction."-Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) Young writers will find inspiration here."-School Library Journal "Myers paints a fascinating picture of his childhood growing up in Harlem in the 1940s."- Publishers Weekly "A thoughtful, cautionary and inspiring tale."- Chicago Tribune Here is the story of one of the strongest voices in young people's literature today.
In a memoir that is gripping, funny, and ultimately unforgettable, Walter Dean Myers travels back to his roots in the magical world of Harlem during the 1940s and 1950s.
He began to doubt himself and the values that he had always relied on, attending high school less and less, turning to the streets and his books for comfort. But growing up in a poor family in Harlem, his hope for a successful future diminished as he came to realize fully the class and racial struggles that surrounded him. He also read voraciously-he would check out books from the library and carry them home, hidden in brown paper bags in order to avoid other boys' teasing. He aspired to be a writer (and he eventually succeeded).īut as his hope for a successful future diminished, the values he had been taught at home, in school, and in his community seemed worthless, and he turned to the streets and to his books for comfort.ĭon't miss this memoir by New York Times bestselling author Walter Dean Myers, one of the most important voices of our time.Īs a boy, Walter Dean Myers was quick-tempered and physically strong, always ready for a fight.
A strong choice for summer reading-an engaging and powerful autobiographical exploration of growing up a so-called bad boy in Harlem in the 1940s.Īs a boy, Myers was quick-tempered and physically strong, always ready for a fight. About the Book From bad boy to role model, Myers recalls growing up in Harlem in the 1940s and 1950s.Ī classic memoir that's gripping, funny, and ultimately unforgettable from the bestselling former National Ambassador of Books for Young People.