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What Members Thought
As close to perfection as any book can be. An emotionally powerful story of a boy who receives nightly visits from a yew tree monster while his mom undergoes cancer treatments. The black and white illustrations beautifully express the sorrow, isolation, and anger the boy feels as he becomes invisible to both school mates and his runaway father but fights to stay strong for his mother. Through the telling of parables with a twist, the monster helps the boy confront the inconsistencies in his thou
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Sep 24, 2011
Becca
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
cried-like-a-baby
There has never been something more true than this book centered around a boy and the monsters that haunt both his waking and sleeping worlds. Heartbreaking and freeing, Ness takes his readers through the truly horrifying range of emotions that plague the loved ones of those who are dying of cancer as he tells the story of Conor coping with his mother's illness.
A wonderful, poignant read, sure to leave you in tears, if not sobbing, by the time you finish. ...more
A wonderful, poignant read, sure to leave you in tears, if not sobbing, by the time you finish. ...more
I sometimes wonder if we, as parents, try to protect our children from the hard things in life too much. We try to protect them, even though our children deal with hard things every day. And other times, I wonder if we are trying so hard to deal with our adult issues that we don't really see our children and the issues they're wrestling with. Conor, in Patrick Ness's powerful new book A Monster Calls, knows all too well about wrestling with life's pain. His mother is battling terminal breast can
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I knew this book was going to be a heart-breaker as soon as I found out that it was inspired by an idea by Siobhan Dowd. An idea that she herself never got to follow through on, because even though in her books she told stories filled with bravery, honesty and truth, the monster still devoured her--and the world of YA literature lost a wonderful voice far too soon. Patrick Ness takes her idea and runs with it, making it his own. He has created a book that is a beautiful tribute to Dowd, and a gr
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I was a little hesitant because of the cover but this was a wonderful book about a boy dealing with him mother's cancer. I would recommend for Middle Schoolers.
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There was weeping. Almost as good of a deathbed scene as Little Women .
The writing is good, but the illustrations are incredible.
Dec 20, 2011
Karen Arendt
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
young-adult,
realistic-fiction
