A Monster Calls: Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd

by Patrick Ness and Siobhan Dowd

Jim Kay (Illustrator)

Patrick Ness’s Carnegie Medal–winning masterwork is poised to attract a discerning crossover audience.

The monster in Conor’s backyard is not the one he’s been expecting — the one from the nightmare he’s had every night since his mother started her treatments. This monster is 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.

• ISBN10: 0763660655
• ISBN13: 9780763660659
• Publish Date: 12 March 2013 (first published 2 May 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Candlewick Press,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 224
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780763660659

Reviews

[maggiefan]

I guess I have a heart after all.
One of the best and most emotional books I've ever read.

[Mercy]

English:
This book broke me, I knew that it was going to happen, I knew how it would end but still, I wasn't prepared. I'm not giving it 5 stars rating because it got a bit boring in the middle but I loved it, Ness is great at describing characters and although the story is sad, it is told in a very beautiful way.

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Español:
Este libro me destrozó, sabía que iba a suceder, sabía cómo iba a terminar pero aún así, no estaba preparada para ello. No le doy una puntuación perfecta porque hay una parte en el medio donde la historia es más lenta y aburrida pero me ha encantado, Ness es muy bueno para describir personajes y aunque la historia es triste, está contada de una forma muy bella.

Por cierto, el audiolibro es genial, no me gustan los audiolibros en español porque he tratado con algunos y los narradores son muy aburridos pero el que narra éste es muy bueno y me pude meter de lleno en la historia desde el principio.

[Laurie]

This book is not bad, but yet not amazing. It's an okay read which unfortunately wouldn't stay with me forever. It was not outstanding, both the storyline and characters.

[lauriesbookshelf]

This book is not bad, but yet not amazing. It's an okay read which unfortunately wouldn't stay with me forever. It was not outstanding, both the storyline and characters.

[Nicole Lynn]

4.5 stars. Really enjoyed this one. All the feels! More of a review later.

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

I typically don't read young adult unless it is in the form of Harry Potter. However, a new-to-me young adult book usually gets me out of a reading slump and A Monster Calls was my pick up of choice. It is a depressing book, dealing with the impending death of a child's mother, but "happy books" have never been my jam.

Unlike The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Patrick Ness does not pussyfoot around the topic of death. It may not be center stage in the plot but it is always looming in the corner and never let's you forget its presence. However, it does so on a child-like level but still makes the dire situation clear. Despite being child-like it was not dumbed down and puts a higher respect towards a child's comprehension.

This book was a story within a story when "the monster" comes calling. The stories told by the yew tree were interesting, although the presentation was reminiscent of the grandpa reading The Princess Bride to his sick grandson. Unfortunately, it didn't work as well and prefered reading of Conor's reality. The plot was held together better than Conor's dreamland and didn't see a cohesive pattern to the tales told by the old yew tree. Conor's waking world was raw and did need the distraction but I didn't find the flow to be a smooth one.

Overall, this is a beautifully told story, and while tragic had a satisfying ending that will break one's heart.

This review was originally posted on First Impressions Reviews

[Joséphine]

Initial thoughts: If I wake up in the morning with swollen red eyes, A Monster Calls is why. Even though this broke me, I wish I had read it much sooner. There was a time I desperately would have needed this because… catharsis; also the assurance that no matter how much we fear our twisted minds, we're much more complex than a single thought.

In some ways, A Monster Calls was predictable — a pre-determined skeleton of a story. Patrick Ness chose a narration style with few frills too and yet its complexity ran deep. It held small surprises that quickly added up. And though I knew right from the start how things would ultimately end, that didn't stop me from dissolving into tears for a good part of the book.

A teacher once told me that short stories are more difficult to write than long ones. If you can convince (or touch) with few words, that's when you have mastered the craft. This observation most definitely applies here. At 216 pages, less even as some spreads were illustrations sans words, this book is a short one. Clearly written for a younger reader, it still transcends age as it manages to speak to those of us who have left our childhood days behind.

[ross91]

Oh God, this book was so sad. I'm crying so much and in 10 minutes I have to get to work... This is going to be difficult!
The story really touched me, probably because I'm living a similar situation and so I related with Connor a lot.
The audiobook was really well done but I think I'm going to buy the physical edition 'cause the artworks seem amazing!

[Bianca]

You do not write your life with words. You write it with actions. What you think is not important. It is only important what you do.

— I AM NOT CRYING.

[Chelsea]

Quick Thoughts:
1. This one hits you hard in the feels.
2. It's middle grade but very adult feeling.
3. Loved the monster. He was really well done.
4. There were funny bits and sad bits all mixed up.
5. Pretty short but gets to the point.