Big Joe's Funeral by Walter Dean Myers

The Story, Big Joe's Funeral, by Walter Dean Myers is full of irony. You see, Big Joe, is a loved person around 145th street. He helps a lot of people out and lends money to people who need it. He has been talking about his funeral for a time and he died. He was wearing a nice suit and almost everyone cried. He faked his funeral. He decided it was enough lending people money and wanted to end his insurance. At the end, he opened the coffin and came out. He received all the money and tricked everybody.

I think that the main theme in this story is RESPECT. I think it is respect because a lot of people lent money from him and he doesn't know who his friends are from that. So he planned his fake funeral and from the speeches, he found who his friends were. He wanted to be respected because he respects everybody else, and he wants them to return the favor when he's dead.

In my opinion, I think that the fake funeral/party was foolish. Because he spent a lot of money on it- maybe more money than he lent to other people! I wouldn't do that because its just a waste of money and what if you really-accidentally- get buried. It would be hard to hear a person 6 feet underneath the ground. Wouldn't you agree.

I didn't really like the story. I mean, it was just there, not very interesting. Although it has a good theme, it sucked.

Monster Reveiw

Okay, from this point, I really enjoy this book. At first I thought it was boring. It was nothing special, because they didn't really explain everything well in the beginning. But as I started to read, I LOVED IT. It was really interesting. I felt really bad for him because he was accused of being involved in a robbery. Although it was a big fight through the justice system, it ended with a happy ending.
The book, Monster, by Walter Dean Myers is about a young black 14 year old, who was accused of being a lookout in a robbery in a grocery store. The owner of the store was accidentally shot by another black man. He was sent to court because a woman accused him of it, she called him MONSTER. Steve Harmon was sent to jail and writes down what he hears, thinks, and says in a notebook. He hopes to turn it into a movie.
The holdup was held in December when 3 black men, King, Richard "Bobo" Evans, and of course, Steve Harmon. They all went to court and went through a long battle. He writes in his notebook of what happens in jail, what he thinks is going to happen, and what happens in court. After the long battle through the justice system, Steve Harmon wins, with his lawyer, O'Brien. The other two were sent to jail because they were really involved in the holdup. Steve was just in the store looking around for stuff, there was nothing against that.

I would personally recommend this book to all my friends who would want a really interesting and serious story.It would teach them a life story and would kill the time. I really love this book. I would also give it 4/5 stars.