He published over seventy books for children and young adults. Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.Īfter serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He was brought up and went to public school there.

Walter Dean Myers was born on Augin Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. This compelling novel is Walter Dean Myers's writing at its best. But despite his efforts, reality is blurred and his vision obscured until he can no longer tell who he is or what is the truth. He writes it all down, scene by scene, the story of how his whole life was turned around in an instant. For the first time, Steve is forced to think about who he is as he faces prison, where he may spend all the tomorrows of his life.Īs a way of coping with the horrific events that entangle him, Steve, an amateur filmmaker, decides to transcribe his trial into a script, just like in the movies. Guilty or innocent, Steve becomes a pawn in the hands of 'the system,' cluttered with cynical authority figures and unscrupulous inmates, who will turn in anyone to shorten their own sentences. A Harlem drugstore owner was shot and killed in his store, and the word is that Steve served as the lookout. Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon is on trial for murder. It probably depends on what you mean by 'win.'

You let the jury know that you think the case is a serious as they do. When you're in court, you sit there and pay attetion. Both you and this king character are on trial for felony murder. Let me make sure you understand what's going on. Kathy O'Brien, Steve's lawyer, is all business as she talks to Steve. I'll call it what the lady who is the prosecutor called me. Sometimes I feel like I have walked into the middle of a movie.

Monster myers