As you know, life is tough. To this end, Monster includes peer pressure, robbery, and murder. It also shows some hard realities of prison, including violence, rape, murder, and hopelessness. These are all very real problems, but that doesn't make them easy to deal with. While some people can delve into these subjects objectively or in a detached way, others are sensitive to violence and will react emotionally. So how do we deal with these harsh truths?

One way is to not deny or sugar-coat things, while also not dwelling on them, either: Yes, these things happen, sometimes life stinks, but let's look beyond them. Do what Myers does and focus on the human condition, how different people deal with hard stuff, growing up/coming-of-age, and ideas of self-perception. There are all kinds of great discussions (both philosophical and practical) that can come from this book: