Title: A Monster Calls
Author: Patrick Ness (with the idea of Siobhan Dowd)
Pages: 215
Published: 2011
Rating: 4/5
Blurb (Goodreads):
The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.
But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming…
This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.
It wants the truth.
My Review:
I really do love Patrick Ness’ writing so I’m slowly but surely working my way through all his books. I’ve read his Chaos Walking series and his More Than This books, and each time I think I need to read all his books! So this is what I’m doing. A Monster Calls was originally Siobhan Dowd’s idea and Patrick Ness was asked to write the book for her as she sadly passed away before she could. I believe that Patrick Ness truly did Siobhan Dowd proud as this book was beautiful.
Things I liked:
My favourite character has to be the monster. I know, I’m as surprised as you are. But the monster was funny like actually made me laugh funny and Conor’s sarcasm to the monster. I liked that each time he meets with the main character Conor, he tells a tale and each tale I found to be fascinating. There were always an unexpected moral behind each tale the monster told and that I really enjoyed and was looking forward to the monster coming back. They made an odd pair and it was fun to watch opposite personalities clash. I think the whole book is such a sensitive subject that a lot of people have to deal with – I don’t mean a monster calling you in the middle of the night, but the whole concept of what is happening to Conor which I cannot say because it is a spoiler. This book was so raw and pure with emotions that it was like you were feeling them yourself. Patrick Ness’ writing style always draws the reader in and his writing style stands out from every other author I’ve read, he’s definitely one of my favourite authors.
Things I disliked:
This book was heart wrenching and I think I needed a happy book so this might have been the wrong one for me. But I would have loved it even more any other time when I was feeling a bit happier. But that’s my personal opinion, I would reread this book maybe later on in the year.
Overall:
As I’ve said a couple times already, I think Patrick Ness is a very talented author and his writing style is unique and makes him stand out. I think more people should read his books because I know they would love them if they did. I rated it a 4/5 as I really liked this book and would recommend this book to anyone that feels like crying (joke) and is interested in a meaningful book.