Book Review: A Monster Calls

Title: A Monster Calls
Author: Patrick Ness
Published: March 12, 2013
Series or Standalone: Standalone
Hardback or Paperback: Paperback
Acquired: Bought used with my own money
Pages: 206
Rating: 5 stars





Summary:
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.

Review:
I absolutely adored the book! It is one of the few books that has actually reduced me to a puddle of tears while simultaneously ripping my heart out to tear it into a thousand pieces. Only put it back together at the very end of the story. I thought about this book for so long after I read it and it still can bring tears to my eyes when I think about certain parts. I am not usually a very emotional person so this kind of reaction was not exactly expected.

The story just grips you from the very beginning and never lets you go. It is one of the most beautiful and compelling storylines that I have ever encountered and I am just mad that I put off reading the book for so long. It has been sitting on my shelves just waiting for me to get to it for over a year now. I read the entire book in one sitting and had trouble putting it down to perform basic functions such as breathing and eating. I did have to stop at one part though and come back to it later (my roommates came home and I did not want to have to explain why I was sobbing like a baby over a book).

The characters were easy to relate to, which is something that I have found is extremely important to me when reading a book. I could definitely root for the home team so to speak and all I wanted was for both the mom and son to finally be healed by whichever method the author saw fit. I loved the character development that takes place with Conner, our main character. He starts off feeling angry and alone because his entire world has been turned upside down by his mom's illness. It is easy to feel sorry for him and to understand where his anger and frustration come from. Throughout the book we see him come to terms with the gravity of the situation and search for the ultimate healing source: acceptance and forgiveness.

This book does deal with some very difficult subjects like cancer, grief, bullying, and forgiveness. Cancer is a subject that always hits close to home for me and I am sure a lot of people can relate. We have all known someone who has been affected by cancer which is a disease that leaves devastation in its wake for both the patient and the family members. Grief is also a subject that many people can relate to because everyone has dealt with things in their life that have caused them immense pain and you know that those wounds do not heal easily. Perhaps the most difficult subject touched upon is the concept of forgiveness. I know that we all struggle with the ability to forgive people who have hurt us and situations that are out of our control. I know that there are things in my life which I have had to consciously say that I am no longer going to carry their weight around with me and I need to let this pain go. That is the main thing that Conner is struggling with because he has carried the weight of the pain that his parent's splitting up and his mother's illness have caused him for so long that he has forgotten what it feels like to be free.

I highly recommend this book because not only is the writing absolute perfection but the illustrations that accompany it are breathtaking. In short this is perhaps the best book that I have read this year!

Happy Reading!