A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
A Monster Calls follows the story of a thirteen year old boy, named Conor, who is learning to live with his mother's cancer diagnosis and her declining health. With his mother's treatments also come nightmares for Conor. Conor begins to be visited by a monster at 12:07 as he wakes from his nightmares. The monster is formed out of a yew tree he can see from his bedroom window. The yew tree monster tells Conor that he will tell him three true stories. After the monster tells his three stories, Conor must tell a true story of his own. If the monster determines that Conor's story is untrue, the monster will eat Conor. The only problem is that Conor's story and his truth are not going to be easy to talk about.
The original creator, Siobhan Dowd, was terminally ill with cancer herself when she started working on this story. She died before she could finish writing it. Patrick Ness then took over and expanded the idea into the work it is today. Ness also worked with a beautiful illustrator, Jim Kay, to really bring life to Siobhan's ideas. The book has now been adapted to a film starring Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones, Liam Neeson, and Sigourney Weaver. They also adapted it into a stage production in 2018, which looks phenomenal from the trailer and previews available online.
As soon as the story opens, you realize this is not going to be an easy, light-hearted read. Conor's mother is very sick, and the author isn't shy in showing the realities of cancer in a household. For anyone who is sensitive to these topics or has experience with sick parents, just be aware that they don't sugarcoat the experience. Make sure you have your tissues ready. As someone who lost a parent to cancer at 17, I can so relate and empathize with Conor. Especially his anger. The ending of the book was so cathartic and something I really needed to read. It really spoke to me on a personal level and helped me work through some of my own struggles surrounding my father's passing. I don't cry often while reading, but I was crying through the ending of this book. The ending was exactly what it needed to be.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
* Positives: Not too long - 226 pages; Interesting concept and idea; Spot on in terms of reality of the story line (at least for me)
* Negatives: A part of me wonders if you have to have experienced grief like this to "get it." I saw a few different reviews from people who were annoyed or unfazed by the story. I'm thinking they are just in the wrong demographic (or soulless people who have no heart) but if someone has no concept of grief, then they may not understand where Conor is coming from.
The original creator, Siobhan Dowd, was terminally ill with cancer herself when she started working on this story. She died before she could finish writing it. Patrick Ness then took over and expanded the idea into the work it is today. Ness also worked with a beautiful illustrator, Jim Kay, to really bring life to Siobhan's ideas. The book has now been adapted to a film starring Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones, Liam Neeson, and Sigourney Weaver. They also adapted it into a stage production in 2018, which looks phenomenal from the trailer and previews available online.
As soon as the story opens, you realize this is not going to be an easy, light-hearted read. Conor's mother is very sick, and the author isn't shy in showing the realities of cancer in a household. For anyone who is sensitive to these topics or has experience with sick parents, just be aware that they don't sugarcoat the experience. Make sure you have your tissues ready. As someone who lost a parent to cancer at 17, I can so relate and empathize with Conor. Especially his anger. The ending of the book was so cathartic and something I really needed to read. It really spoke to me on a personal level and helped me work through some of my own struggles surrounding my father's passing. I don't cry often while reading, but I was crying through the ending of this book. The ending was exactly what it needed to be.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
* Positives: Not too long - 226 pages; Interesting concept and idea; Spot on in terms of reality of the story line (at least for me)
* Negatives: A part of me wonders if you have to have experienced grief like this to "get it." I saw a few different reviews from people who were annoyed or unfazed by the story. I'm thinking they are just in the wrong demographic (or soulless people who have no heart) but if someone has no concept of grief, then they may not understand where Conor is coming from.
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