A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Author: Patrick Ness

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Horror, Fiction

Description: 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.

STAR RATING: 5/5

Hi everyone!

This book is a book that finished today, and it has hit me hard. This review might contain spoilers so please read with caution!

The story circulates around a young boy called Conor, who’s mother has cancer and he has to take care of himself whilst she is ill. However, he keeps on having the same nightmare, and every night at 12:07, he wakes up from it. One night he hears the monster say his name, but as he goes to investigate the monster, it’s not the one he is expecting. Sat in his back garden is the old yew tree from the graveyard up by the hill, and the monster goes by the name Cernunnos. He has come to Conor to deliver 3 stories, and receive a 4th – Conor’s true nightmare.

Damn this book had me in tears by it. It is sad but also has some incredibly valuable life lessons in it. I fully expected Cernunnos to be a bad guy, but he wasn’t at all. He helped Conor explore his true feelings and helped him realize his true feelings.

This book is essentially a cancer story. But it isn’t the conventional type, because it’s a very intricate story which sets it apart from books such as TFIOS.

I did judge this book by its cover. I thought it would be a scary novel, when in reality it was a harsh, hard hitting novel. This is the first book that I have read by Patrick Ness, and what a good choice it was.

I gave this book 5 stars because I couldn’t fault it. The plot was so delicate and is something that people have to live through. The characters were flawless – I really empathized with Conor, I felt his Grandmother’s pain, I then understood how tough this situation was for his father, and I really respected the mother for how brave she was throughout.

If you take away the fact that this is a cancer story, it is still a beautiful tale about letting go and being honest with yourself and the others around you, because it will take a big weight off of your chest.

Please make sure you have this book on your bookshelf, you will not regret it.

TheFictionalWanderer x