Some books you don’t want to finish because they are so beautifully written that you’ll miss them when you reach the end. When it comes to A Monster Calls, you won’t want to finish because you know you will have to face the truth in the end—and it’s an unbearable truth.
Thirteen-year-old Conor’s life is a nightmare. Literally. His father is away in the States, and his mother has cancer. His life is spinning out of control, and on top of it all, he has nightmares—a huge, horrible monster that comes to call each night. The monster has three stories to tell. Each one seems to carry a message, but Conor cannot figure it out. The fourth must come from Conor, according to the monster, and it must be the truth.
Patrick Ness completed this book, which began as an idea of Siobhan Dowd, after Dowd’s death. It is an agonizingly beautiful and terribly honest parable that will ring true to anyone who has lost someone they love.
Note: A Monster Calls is a Young Adult novel, and the topic of death may be a trigger for some.
Ness, P. (2011). A monster calls: A novel (J. Kay, illustrator). Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
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