The Get Over

From beloved author Walter Dean Myers, this original 20-page short story serves as a prequel to his award-winning novel Monster, which has been read and loved by millions of readers.

Word on the street is that a robbery is about to go down in Harlem, and Steve Harmon is right in the middle of it. Everyone is trying to prove who's the toughest. Steve gets caught up in the talk—and a high-stakes moral dilemma—as he wonders about the difference between right and wrong. Should he turn these guys in? Stay quiet? What choice will Steve make?

Walter Dean Myers was the New York Times bestselling author of Monster, the winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award; a former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature; and an inaugural NYC Literary Honoree. Myers received every single major award in the field of children's literature. He was the author of two Newbery Honor Books and six Coretta Scott King Awardees. He was the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults, a three-time National Book Award Finalist, as well as the first-ever recipient of the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.

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Prequel to a Classic: Discover the moment that set Steve Harmon on the path to Walter Dean Myers’s groundbreaking novel, Monster.Gritty Harlem Setting: Experience the tense streets of Harlem, where a robbery is being planned in broad daylight and a young man’s future hangs in the balance.High-Stakes Choices: Caught between a dangerous crew and his own conscience, Steve must decide whether to speak up or stay silent—and live with the consequences.Intense Peer Pressure: Feel the weight of the street code as Steve gets caught up in the talk, trying to navigate a world where being the toughest is all that seems to matter.