Monster


Most people know about gangs and know that they are violent, but most people do not know what actually really happens within a gang. The novel Monster takes you through the life of Monster Kody Scott a famous 8 Tray Gangster Crip, as he makes his way through the gang to become an Original Gangster. Set in South Central Los Angeles in the 1970s and 1980s, Monster Kody Scott begins his gang life at the young age of 11. Never thinking he could become an O.G. in his life he began doing the dirty work to make a name for him and move up the ranks within the gang. It started off slow for Monster, but Tray Ball his mentor, stood behind him the whole time and pushed him to become the best. He never gave up and always did his best for the set and it all soon paid off for him. In the matter of a few years Monster and his best friend Crazy De had become well know thugs of the 8 Tray Gangster Crips.
Monster had shot and killed many people in his life and did time in juvenile hall, jail or prison for some of his murders. Monster himself had been shot a few times and sometimes it was life threatening, but that never backed him down from his set. He was down for life and was never going to walk away from the 8 Tray Gangster Crips. Well his time in Y.T.S. he began attending Islamic services and began reading Islamic writings. He never turned Islamic, but did start believing in their ways. Monster continued his ways on the street until he was caught for Grand Theft Auto and now sits in prison with a sentence of seven years. Monster is still a well known 8 Tray Gangster Crip and still holds high ranks within the gang
The first time I looked through this book I thought it is going to be about a lot of killing and bloodshed. I was proven wrong. Although there are killings in the book it went into more depth of what Monster was thinking and feeling. You understood all the problems he and his friends were going through and started to feel sorry for them. Most of the time kids that are grown up in that kind of an environment do not really have a choice in whether they are in a gang or not and most of the people in this book did not have a choice. Sanyika Shakur did a great job in bringing you into what he was thinking and going through at that time of his life. It was as if you were going through those problems yourself. At times it can be rough to keep up with everybody’s names and all of the gang names, but most of the time you get the point and you understand with what is going on. It is a very well written book and I would recommend it to people that have an interest in gang life. Monster is a compelling true story of gang life in South Central Los Angeles that will keep you thinking for days.