A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Pages: 205
Intended Audience: Teens and tweens
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Fantasy
Notes for Parents: Includes discussions about terminal illness and death

The Back Cover

The monster showed up after midnight. As they do. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting, the one from the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming…
This monster is something different, something ancient, something wild. And it wants the truth.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

The story was inspired by an idea from the late author Siobhan Dowd who had already developed the characters, written a detailed premise and the beginning. Unfortunately she died of breast cancer before the book was finished. Ness was asked by their mutual publisher to write the story.

What’s good?

This is a wonderfully crafted story about fear, anger, and grief made palpable by hauntingly beautiful illustrations. The plot is simple and is powered by the raw emotions of a young boy with a dying mother who is haunted by a creature that seems to have stepped out of his nightmares. Although we don’t get to know a lot about each of the characters, we learn enough to feel their pain and experience their loss.
Best Part: The yew tree.

What isn’t good?

The story is short, so there’s not a lot of background or character development. However, in this instance, the lack of information allows the reader to fill in the blanks and imagine what it would be like to walk in the shoes of these people who are experiencing the worst moments of their life.
Worst part:  There’s nothing I didn’t like.

Recommendation þþþþo

Told like a fable, it’s the kind of story that makes you want to wrap up the young protagonist in your arms and never let him go. This heart-wrench tale about letting go is a work of art. Highly recommended.

Ness, Patrick. A Monster Calls. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2011.