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.

Novel Review: In the Shadows by Kiersten White and Jim Di Bartolo

Rating (Out of 5): ~4-4.5

Genre: YA Paranormal Mystery Romance

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release Date: April 29, 2014

Spoilers?: No.

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

Teaser Tuesday. Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the remarkable imagination of acclaimed artist Jim Di Bartolo and the exquisite pen of bestselling author Kiersten White comes a spellbinding story of love, mystery, and dark conspiracy, told in an alternating narrative of words and pictures.

Cora and Minnie are sisters living in a small, stifling town where strange and mysterious things occur. Their mother runs the local boarding house. Their father is gone. The woman up the hill may or may not be a witch.

Thomas and Charles are brothers who’ve been exiled to the boarding house so Thomas can tame his ways and Charles can fight an illness that is killing him with increasing speed. Their family history is one of sorrow and guilt. They think they can escape from it . . . but they can’t.

The Cover:

I find the cover really pretty. It gives a good feel for the book, the swirly colors, and the shadow-y outlines of the two. I don't know if it would really catch my attention on the shelf, but the more I look at it the more I like it.

Quotes:

• "Minnie trembled, too, with either excitement or fear, which were so often indistinguishable until afterward when she knew the result of the event.” (Hardcover, pg. 87)
• "Growing up, she found, was a heartbreaking endeavor.” (Pg. 97)
• "...Thom said, raising an eyebrow (another reason Charles was sure to catch a kiss before him, as smiles sang to other lips in a way annoyed eyebrows never could).” (Pg. 139)
• "'Just realize that, no matter what you do, things are out of your control. Voila! Peace!’” (Pg. 201)
• "For some reason random pain was more comforting to her than pain that could be traced to a definite cause.” (Pg. 291)

Review:

I am seriously impressed with this book. I was really intrigued by the story through art (with no words) and through words only, but I was also a little wary. I wasn’t sure if I would like the art, and I was afraid in general that I wouldn’t like the story. But I’m actually impressed with how good it was, and how much I enjoyed it.

First of all, this book is beautiful. It’s really heavy, because the entire book is in color, even the written parts. The written parts are pretty, but the artwork is also really, really pretty. I even went back a few times, or just paused on a picture, to admire it. And White, who I am a very big fan of and have read all of her previous books, writes in a style to match the feel of the artwork. It’s pretty, takes on a creepier feel. It’s really well done.

The story was also fantastic. I wasn’t sure where it was going, and the mystery goes on for a long time. There was probably about a third, maybe a quarter, of the book left when I really figured out what was going on. And I loved that. The way that the two stories intersect is really left a mystery for the longest time, and there were so many possibilities. While reading, I went back to previous picture sections so many times, trying to match up who it was, what was happening. It was fun to read, even. The climax took me by surprise, too, particularly in how it played out, and I really liked it.

I did not grow overly attached to the characters, and who ends up as a couple was kind of a guessing game for the longest time. But I did like all of the characters, and I really wanted them all to have a happy ending. 

I loved the ending, how it all worked out. I wasn’t too sure how it was all going to work out, but I loved it. It’s impressive and exciting and surprising and beautiful. It was a pretty fast read, too, and I didn't want to put it down. I seriously just like looking at the book, and now want to recommend it to everyone.