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A Monster Calls
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Fantasy > A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (Group Read October 2015)

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message 1: by Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder (last edited Nov 03, 2015 02:25PM) (new) - rated it 4 stars

Stacia (the 2010 club) (stacia_r) | 5137 comments A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness


The group read for October is now open.

If you need to talk about any major plot points (minor story details don't need to be tagged), please use this code to put your text inside of a spoiler tag and make a note of whereabouts in the book you're talking about so people know if they've read far enough to be able to click on the tag :




Ashley Marie SUCH A GOOD BOOKKKKK


message 3: by Dee (new) - rated it 4 stars

Dee (austhokie) | 345 comments i really liked this and highly recommend the audiobook if you can get it - its narrated by Jason Issacs


Ashley Marie ^ agree x100000


message 5: by Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder (new) - rated it 4 stars

Stacia (the 2010 club) (stacia_r) | 5137 comments Doesn't this book have pictures though? Or am I confusing it with another book?


message 6: by Dee (new) - rated it 4 stars

Dee (austhokie) | 345 comments It does but it's one of those nice to have it equally powerful without - I said the same thing initially


message 7: by Heidi (last edited Oct 05, 2015 04:47AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Heidi Dee wrote: "It does but it's one of those nice to have it equally powerful without - I said the same thing initially"

I agree. Go with the audiobook if you can. I went to the library afterwards and looked at the pictures. This is one of my all time favorite books EVER. My mother suffered from and passed away from breast cancer when I was 13 years old so this book holds a special place in my heart.


Ashley Marie I need to get a copy of the paperback.


Gwennie (blessedwannab) LOL, see I'm completely opposite. (Though I'm not a fan of audiobooks.)

I can't imagine reading this book without the artwork of Jim Kay to accompany the words. It was simply stunning and added to the darkness of the story to see the stark images.


message 10: by Mugzy (new) - added it

Mugzy (mugzys) | 22 comments ....I just bought both book and audio book. I think I have a problem :P


Diane | 1234 comments I bought the e book and am 25 % into it - I have not seen any artwork yet. Does this mean the e book does not include the art? I can read much better on e format because lighting and font size are not an issue I hope I am not missing out.


Ashley Marie Mugzy wrote: "....I just bought both book and audio book. I think I have a problem :P"

I wholly support this decision ;)


Gwennie (blessedwannab) I'm pretty sure you have to have the physical book to get the artwork. (THere are pictures quite frequently, maybe a small picture on every 3rd page and a large picture in nearly every chapter.)

You can find some of the pictures, however, if you go to Jim Kay's website. Like this one:




Gwennie (blessedwannab) This one is my favorite:




Heidi Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Mugzy wrote: "....I just bought both book and audio book. I think I have a problem :P"

I wholly support this decision ;)"


Me too!


message 16: by Mugzy (new) - added it

Mugzy (mugzys) | 22 comments Glad I'm not alone in this decision!! <3


Diane | 1234 comments OH wow I am missing out! I will have to get the physical copy as a companion!


Gwennie (blessedwannab) LOL, I bought the hardcover and it's so gorgeous. I'm not upset at all. (Plus the pages are glossy and the writing is larger, almost like an extra extra long children's book.)


Diane | 1234 comments I'll have to check that out because with larger writing I will not have to worry about the e-copy. Now the dilemma is I will not have time to get the print copy till the weekend and if I keep reading I will be done by then. Do I stop reading and wait or do I read on and enjoy the pix later. So many decisions :)


message 20: by Jessabeth (new)

Jessabeth (jessabethy) | 20 comments Kobo is the only thing that works in my phone for reading. I saw at least four different prices on this book with different covers (all same author) in kobo store. Does that mean they are different versions? Didn't buy it yet because it was confusing.


Gwennie (blessedwannab) I don't think it matters, really. The words are probably all the same, some might come with the illustrations.


Diane | 1234 comments OK I went ahead and did it - I just finished reading A Monster Calls. OOOOhh the feels I am in between parent conferences today and hope not to be choked up when my next one comes in in about 15 min. This wasn't the spooky book I was hoping for but it was so good that I am glad it was the pick for the month. I will be thinking about this one for a while. I definitely am going to go get the hard back for the art work - the ones you posted were awesome.


Heidi Diane wrote: "OK I went ahead and did it - I just finished reading A Monster Calls. OOOOhh the feels I am in between parent conferences today and hope not to be choked up when my next one comes in in about 15 mi..."

Yay!


Ashley Marie Diane wrote: "OK I went ahead and did it - I just finished reading A Monster Calls. OOOOhh the feels I am in between parent conferences today and hope not to be choked up when my next one comes in in about 15 mi..."

So glad you liked it Diane! I had similar feelings :)


Gwennie (blessedwannab) It's such a great book!


message 26: by Mugzy (new) - added it

Mugzy (mugzys) | 22 comments Just finished this book last night... The feels, so many feels!


Gwennie (blessedwannab) Yay


Diane | 1234 comments I have a question about the book - (view spoiler)


message 29: by Mugzy (new) - added it

Mugzy (mugzys) | 22 comments (view spoiler)


message 30: by Dee (new) - rated it 4 stars

Dee (austhokie) | 345 comments IIRC she had (view spoiler) - Ness actually wrote this based on an idea from another author who died - Sioban Dowd and that was how she died...so maybe an homage


Gwennie (blessedwannab) It was definitely (view spoiler).


Diane | 1234 comments Thanks I thought that was it. (view spoiler)


Beverly | 17 comments A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness A Monster Calls is going to the top of my "Most Unforgettable Books of All Time" list. I could not put it down. I remember almost every line and the brilliant drawings are embedded in my brain. I will be thinking about this story for a long time.


Gwennie (blessedwannab) Patrick Ness is an amazing writer. It's not surprising to me at all that he was chosen to be the writer for the YA Doctor Who BBC spin off.


Heidi Yay! As someone who has had breast cancer (twice) and had a mother pass away from breast cancer this book really holds a place in my heart that will never be replaced. I am so happy that new readers and reading this and loving it too. Gah! I so so so love this book.


message 36: by Mugzy (new) - added it

Mugzy (mugzys) | 22 comments yeah!! I lost my dad at 15 so this whole book I was like, "this was me!! why did I not have this book 10 years ago?!" btw, (view spoiler)


Gwennie (blessedwannab) Yes, I absolutely think he was.


Diane | 1234 comments In your opinion (view spoiler)


Gwennie (blessedwannab) I think I always try to give Lex the truth without getting into the more gory specifics. That's always been my motto. If she was old enough to be curious and ask, then I should give her the truth.


message 40: by Diane (last edited Oct 17, 2015 09:53AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Diane | 1234 comments I guess that is my approach also


Heidi I think you never know what you are going to do unless you are in the same situation (and hopefully never are). (view spoiler)


message 42: by Dee (new) - rated it 4 stars

Dee (austhokie) | 345 comments I was 9 when my grandfather died, my cousin was 12; I knew more than he did because family knew I could handle/understand it and my cousin not so much - so I think it depends on the kid


message 43: by Mugzy (new) - added it

Mugzy (mugzys) | 22 comments I think it's just really easy to underestimate what kids can handle, sometimes that sheltering can hurt them.


message 44: by Beverly (last edited Oct 19, 2015 06:21AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Beverly | 17 comments Heidi (Yup. Still here.) wrote: "Yay! As someone who has had breast cancer (twice) and had a mother pass away from breast cancer this book really holds a place in my heart that will never be replaced. I am so happy that new reader..."
And what an important coincidence that we are reading it during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.


Christie (cereale) I am finally going to get to this book today. I checked out the physical book but because of so many new releases this month I haven't gotten a chance to read it. This week I am driving out of town for a conference so I picked up the audiobook version for my trip. I still have the physical book so I will get to experience the pictures as well.


Heidi Christie wrote: "I am finally going to get to this book today. I checked out the physical book but because of so many new releases this month I haven't gotten a chance to read it. This week I am driving out of town..."

Great plan!!! I think you will love the audiobook but I would have loved to look at the pictures while I listened (I looked afterwards).


message 47: by Day (new) - rated it 5 stars

Day La | 46 comments I just finished the book! This is my first group read with this group so I feel very accomplished right now.


message 48: by Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder (new) - rated it 4 stars

Stacia (the 2010 club) (stacia_r) | 5137 comments What did you end up liking about the book, Day?


message 49: by Day (new) - rated it 5 stars

Day La | 46 comments Stacia (the 2010 club) wrote: "What did you end up liking about the book, Day?"

The book actually surprised me. Going by the title and description I thought the book was a horror tale that would keep me up in the night. I'm actually happy to find that the book was more than that. It was sad, angsty, and even heartfelt. I definitely appreciated the story more than I thought I would. Made me appreciate life and my family much more.


Heidi Yay! I am so happy people are loving this :)


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