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Nov 25, 2011

Cait rated it:

You can also find this review on my blog, Cait's Corner!

First things first: This almost never happens, but I have to admit that I cried at the end of this book; I clutched my cute little kitty-kat and bawled.

However, I didn't cry because of what the book did, necessarily, but because of what it did to me. It drags out your saddest memories and pains, kicking and screaming, makes you look them right in the face and watch them all happen all over again, no m More...

37 comments like (112 people liked it)

Sep 27, 2011

Wendy Darling rated it:

In the dark of night, when the house is still, what fears creep into your heart? For Conor O'Malley, his nightmares take the shape of a very old and very dangerous monster who visits him every night at seven minutes past midnight. He's half-convinced that these must be dreams of his fevered mind. But how can they be, when the visits are so vivid and when he finds physical evidence of the monster's existence the next day?

Conor's nightmares begin shortly after his mother starts her tre More...

137 comments like (136 people liked it)

Feb 21, 2012

Stephanie rated it:

A Monster Calls has to be the most inventive book I've read this year. And I find myself struggling to put in words how much this book has touched me. But it did. If you haven't read A Monster Calls, I suggest you immediately purchase it. Don't read the e-book because you would miss out on the amazing artwork. This book is stunning. Masterfully written and beautifully drawn.

I remember the first time a book made me cry like this. I was in eighth grade in my English class, sitting More...

20 comments like (35 people liked it)

Nov 17, 2011

Jo rated it:

Quick Note: This review is going to be extremely incoherent and incredibly useless. So if you have seen this book anywhere around and been a little bit curious…. I urge you to read it.
It probably won’t surprise you to see that I’ve decided not to write this review in my usual form. This is because the ‘High Points’ would consist of just a picture of the book. The Low Points would be redundant (I can usually find a few low points, even if I adore the book, but this one… I got nothing). I c More...

52 comments like (43 people liked it)

Jan 06, 2012

Lyndsey rated it:

I don't believe that you can ever learn everything from a single story.

Many tales and many lessons contribute to an individual's personal truth. However, if you're looking for something that comes close to being a one-stop-shop for all your personal emotional needs, this would be it.

A Monster Calls contains breathtaking art by Jim Kay and is paired with a story of heartbreaking artistry from Patrick Ness.

Do I recommend this book? A million times yes and a million ti More...

10 comments like (46 people liked it)

Nov 16, 2011

karen rated it:

this book is a perfect modern fairy tale.

not a nice disney one with singing birds where everyone gets to go home with their prince and all of their limbs, but the older, darker kind involving foot-choppery and decimation.

lemme step back a bit. i added this book to my to-read shelf the moment i saw its cover here on goodreads.com. i knew nothing about it except that something in me bellowed "WANT!" i did not win it in the firstreads giveaway (naturally) and More...

64 comments like (77 people liked it)

Nov 12, 2011

Aly (Fantasy4eva) rated it:

After all the wonderful reviews on here, I knew I had to buy this book. So I walked into my local book-store today, determined and with a purpose. Determined that I was going to leave with this book in my hand. I walked in knowing that I had only ever seen one copy of the book in the store. So all I could do was cling on to hope. Thank god. The relief I felt at A MONSTER CALLS sitting there, almost waiting for me, is just indescribable.

I started it two hours ago. I read it in one si More...

8 comments like (17 people liked it)

Dec 12, 2011

Rachel rated it:

(I look at these five stars and think, no way. This book cannot be measured with stupid little stars.)

(I will just mention, too, that there are spoilers ahead. This is a book worth not being spoiled, so please do read it first before reading my review. You'll need a box of tissues, and your blankie.)

As always, I start from my own eccentricity: I am interested in the Monsters of the Mind. We all have them, the Grendels, the Keepers of the Eternal Shame, the beasts blocking the More...

9 comments like (17 people liked it)

Dec 13, 2011

Lucy rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

23 comments like (17 people liked it)

Feb 22, 2012

Trudi rated it:

The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do.

If I could get the whole world to read just one book it would be A Monster Calls. I could list here a whole ream of adjectives to try and describe it -- beautiful, haunting, heartbreaking, lyrical -- but none do it justice. I would need to invent adjectives, and even then I would come up short.

I can tell you A Monster Calls is the warmest hug, the hug that makes you feel the most safe, when you are at your most frightened. More...

5 comments like (11 people liked it)

Dec 14, 2011

The Holy Terror rated it:

I just read this book from cover to cover.

I have no idea how to rate it.

It is the worst book I've read.

I would never be able to recommend it,

because I hated it.

It's ripped my heart in two.

It'll make you think of losing the one person who means the most to you.

Or it'll make you think of those you've already lost.

It's not a happy book, but it's an important one.

21 comments like (32 people liked it)

Sep 15, 2011

Catie rated it:

This book is so breathtakingly brilliant and I don’t have anything to say about it. I feel stunned.

My fellow reviewers have done such a wonderful job at keeping mum about the plot of this book, so I will promise to do the same. This review will be very brief.

All I can say is, if you’ve ever experienced grief or loss of any kind, then please, please, for the love of everything, just go and get this book. It’s indescribable, beautiful, and true. The writing is just sp More...

12 comments like (31 people liked it)

Nov 07, 2011

Flannery rated it:

Last Fourth of July, I played a party game called Time’s Up with some friends. The gist of the game is that everyone has a partner and you start with a certain number of cards as a group—say 40. Each one has a different movie/television show/book title on it and you use the same cards for the entire game so if you have great recall, the game is much easier. In the first round, you try to get your partner to guess the title by describing the movie without using specific words. (like Taboo) The s More...

25 comments like (39 people liked it)

Nov 30, 2011

Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalker rated it:

You want to know what a boohooing baby I am? It took me a month to write this review and it wasn't because I was being my normal lazy self. Everytime I tried to write, my eyes just filled with tears. I'm such a baby!

Ok.. here it is....

When I was a senior in high school, I wanted to go on a big senior trip that was going to occur right after graduation. I had no money. It was just me and my 19 year old sister. The school stated that I could fundraise but that is about all More...

18 comments like (35 people liked it)

Nov 03, 2011

♡ K J Shadows ♡ rated it:

5 Stars

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!jfgkdhfgf992388010101!!!

Yeah. That was pretty much my reaction at the end.

Words can't really even express how greatful I am that I actually went in and picked this up even though it felt awkward asking at the counter for a children's book. Was it just me or did it feel like it was geared towards adults too? Maybe because in the end we could all learn a lesson.

It was cute, creative, inspirational. I'm sure no More...

6 comments like (17 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

Chachic rated it:

Originally posted here.

Even though I didn't fall in love with Patrick Ness' The Knife of Never Letting Go, I enjoyed it enough to read his other books. I've seen rave reviews of A Monster Calls so I decided to request a copy from NetGalley when it became available there. I finished reading this book weeks ago and I've let a draft of my review rest in my dashboard, hoping that I'll be able to write something substantial while the dust settles. I admit defeat, nothing that I can write More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 29, 2011

★ Jess rated it:

Since the "Chaos Walking" trilogy, Patrick Ness has been a favorite author of mine. With the highest expectations going into this book, I was still totally unprepared for the wonder I was about to uncover. Its lyrical. Its powerful. Its moving. To quote Meg Rosoff: "(its) story telling as it should be".
Im not going to go into detail. This is a book best read, not knowing what to expect.
So, I can vent on for ages about how good the writing is, or how wonderful More...

2 comments like (10 people liked it)

Dec 29, 2011

Lou rated it:

Conor will have the test of his life to face up to and they will be presented to him in many forms.
This is not a terrifying story.
The shift between dreams, nightmares and reality really make this a interesting read.
This is a wonderful poignant story of melancholy and happiness. Disguised in this story of a monster a force that nightmares are made of is really a bigger message to whoever ponders on its meaning. This story will be remembered alongside many great stories it challe More...

4 comments like (8 people liked it)

Nov 18, 2011

Heidi rated it:

A Monster Calls

Five stars: This is a haunting, heartbreaking book that will grab onto your heart strings.

A Monster Calls is one of those books that has the ability to break your heart and touch your soul. On the surface it is supposedly a children's book; one where a monster comes roaring to a window one night. A great, old, wild terrible monster but he is not the horrible nightmare Conor O'Malley has been expecting; for you see he has been haunted repeatedly in his ni More...

2 comments like (10 people liked it)

Aug 01, 2011

Emily rated it:

I got back to my apartment in Bulgaria and thought I'd read a little bit of this novel before I went to bed. 2 hours later I was still sat in my original position but by this time I was sobbing my heart out. Literally sat there crying like a baby to myself. I doubt this book will be everyone's cup of tea but, whatever it has, it really worked it's magic on me.

I thought A Monster Calls was pretty much amazing in every way; from it's darkly beautiful illustrations (worth buying a paper More...

11 comments like (35 people liked it)

Dec 04, 2011

Nicola rated it:

It almost feels pointless to review this book for any other reason than to urge people to go read it for themselves. I don't think you can put a book like this into words- it's one of those novels that everyone has to read and take from it what they will, based on their own experiences in life.

I think the driving force behind this book is what makes it that little more touching. This is Siobhan Dowd's idea- written by Patrick Ness because Dowd died before she got the chance to get it More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 23, 2012

Anzu rated it:

** Favourite book of 2011 **

The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do.
I‘ve been ~~stalking~~ looking for A Monster Calls for quite a while. All those great reviews got to my head and I was so damn curious to see what all the fuss was about.

And then I finally got the hardcover.

And then I started reading it.

And then holy f*ck mother that is good and shiny. Wtf is this book??? I’m being mindraped. I have no words to express my feelings.

More...

12 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 14, 2012

Donna rated it:

After the untimely death of Siobhan Dowd, Patrick Ness was contacted to complete the story that she started about a boy coming to terms with his mother's battle with cancer and confronting the monster that calls on him night after night. The monster is the yew tree, the form it takes most comfortably, and the form in which is most readily heals.

There's nothing bad I can say about this book. Not a one. I knew from a few pages in that the end would have me in tears. And it did. As I sit More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Sep 27, 2011

Teresa Rolfe rated it:

A tour de force, on so many levels. I greet any novel by Patrick Ness with immense anticipation, knowing that it will be a reading experience like none other. A Monster Calls explores the psychological underpinnings of Conor, a teenage boy who has lost a father to divorce and faces losing his mother to cancer. A circumstance that would rock anyone to their foundational core, but especially a teenager in the throes of the academic and adolescent obstacle course of ordinary life. But these are ext More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 06, 2011

Shelley rated it:

*Rating* 5
*Genre* Young Adult Fiction

*Review**

I've read alot of reviews regarding this book recently, and I absolutely have to agree that this is one of the best books of the year for any genre. My heart strings were pulled in all sorts of directions understanding exactly what Conor was going thru with his mother.

I too have experienced an emotional rollercoaster ride that started the day I was called at work and told that my grandmother who raised me had More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Oct 29, 2011

prettybooks rated it:

A Monster Calls is a work of art. I’m not a prolific children’s books reader; I enjoy many young adult books but I often fail to fully appreciate novels written for a much younger age group. A Monster Calls is an exception to this rule. The novel blends realistic fiction and fantasy to create an unforgettable, inspiring novel.

In A Monster Calls, a young boy attempts to come to terms with his mother’s illness and inevitable death through a monster appearing in tree-form. It is beauti More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 10, 2011

Sarah rated it:

"Humans are complicated beasts," the monster said.

I think you could boil down most of Patrick Ness's writings to that single statement. Like the Chaos Walking trilogy, A Monster Calls take place in the grey areas of life and focuses on people who are neither good nor evil, but real and human and flawed.

Conor is 13 years old when the monster comes to him, shortly after midnight. As if he didn't have enough to worry about between his mother's cancer treatmen More...

0 comments like (10 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2012

marlene rated it:

"A monster calls" is more than words on page. It's an experience. It's feelings.

It's a weird thing. A book. It can look like such a normal thing, but still, it can be so much more. Like this one was. Some books are good, really good, but it's the unique ones that'll really stick with you. Books like "a monster calls". Someday it's going to be a classic, I'm sure.

I'm glad to see that this book doesn't really look like a normal book either. It has these More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Feb 14, 2012

Chris rated it:

This may be a kid's book but adults may get more out of it than children could, or at least I hope so. I lost my father after a protracted illness earlier this year and I can say that whether you are 48, or 13 like the character in this marvelous book, Patrick Ness maps in a beautiful way the road that you take as you let go of someone central to your life. The messages are simple as most profound truths are. I would recommend it to anyone who has lost someone and am grateful to Patrick Ness for More...

3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

Choco rated it:

I want you all to have a personal time and relationship with this book without knowing too much beforehand, so the review is going to be short.

Not knowing what to expect, I read this book in public. What a wrong move. I ended up sobbing in the middle of a cafe with this kid staring at me. Should've gone home earlier? I didn't want to leave the story.
Tear-jerkers are never my cup of tea, but there's nothing cheap about this book. It's heart-wrenching and simply the best book I'v More...

3 comments like (4 people liked it)