Novel Review: A Monster Calls: Inspired by an Idea from Siobhan Dowd, by Patrick Ness and Illustrated by Jim Kay

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy, grief

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Release Date: 2013

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

The Cover:

The cover is dark and haunting, using the same artwork as throughout the book, which I think is actually very fitting. Thinking back on the book, it doesn't particularly feel like those adjectives, and yet the artwork feels very fitting to the story anyway.

Review:

Conor's mother has cancer, again, and she's doing worse than she used to. At the same time, Conor's being bullied at school, and now his grandmother is visiting again, and they don't really get along, either. During all of this, Conor suddenly starts seeing this giant monster at night, causing destruction and conflicts, and telling him these twisted stories.

I really liked the way that Conor meets the monster, how he's absolutely not afraid of him; he's facing much scarier things, and I love the meaning behind that. The stories that the monster tells him, too; they're unique and with a surprise ending each time, which Conor hates, and I love them. They're dark sometimes, and thoughtful, and very important to what Conor needs to learn. It's similar to the meaning behind his bullying, and how he kind of needed Harry to do these things. Their fight was very satisfying, honestly, and it needed to happen. I understood Conor's need, too, for things to go back to normal, for him to feel normal and be treated fairly, not pitied.

This story was really heartbreaking, honestly. Conor's struggle was hard and honest and rough, and no one around him was truly seeing it. The ending, too... It's heartbreaking, and his final confrontation with the monster was honest and brutal, and it made me cry.

These kinds of stories are just brutal, and sad, and necessary. This was a beautiful story, honestly, so thoughtful and well-written and meaningful. I'm glad I finally read it, and I think it's a very important story for a lot of people; that some people might need this exact story.