BOOK REVIEW: A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness

A MONSTER CALLS
Patrick Ness
Candlewick
Ages 14 - 17

An unflinching, darkly funny, and deeply moving story of a boy, his seriously ill mother, and an unexpected monstrous visitor.
At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting— he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd— whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself— Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.
My Review:
Another tear-jerker. Yes, I admit it. The last page made me spring a leak. A MONSTER CALLS reaches deep, grabs your heart, and leaves you feeling. ..
Conor's mother is very sick, and has been for some time. If the nightmares aren't bad enough, then there is the yew tree which transforms into a monster every night at 12:07. But the monster isn't quite what Conor expects a monster to be. It has tales to tell--three tales. And the fourth will be Conor's.
Ness's story is one of the most memorable I've read in a long time, simple and unembellished, yet heartwrenching and real. I loved it. The moment I closed the cover (and dabbed at my smeared mascara) I handed it over to my daughter and said, "You gotta read this." And that's all I have to say to all of you...you gotta read this.


Contect Rating:
Sexuality:  NoneViolence:  Moderate (but not detailed)Profanity:  None