REVIEW: A Monster Calls: Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd by Patrick Ness

Dear Mr. Ness,

I feel like quite the scrooge because while I liked your YA novel, A Monster Calls, I didn't love it the way everyone else I've seen reviewing it seems to have done. The book has a powerful and moving story of how it came to be. The idea behind it was the brainchild of author and activist Siobhan Dowd, who died of breast cancer before she could execute her vision. Instead, you wrote the book.

The book centers on Conor O'Malley, a thirteen year old boy whose mother is suffering...