A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls
Patrick Ness

Conor is a boy who has a close relationship with his mother who is battling cancer. He has a strained relationship with his father and grandmother, so he uses stories and dreams to help him deal with the more difficult aspects of his life.

I absolutely loved the imagination that went into this book and how the monster featured throughout the stories, perfectly capturing all of Conor's emotions in so few words. I also thought the book was visually very beautiful - the pictures simply helped to enrich the images I had in my mind and made me realise how much I miss picture books! I also love how unique, detailed, yet shadowy they are - as if they are designed to work to everyone's imagination

I was also impressed how the character of Connor was so different from that of the characters in the Chaos Walking Trilogy - so many writers create very similar voices for their characters in different books until they are virtually indistinguishable from one another. Conor retained a unique personality which makes him stand out.

By far the best part of this book was the power of the emotions in the incredibly short space of time and words. With very little description I could feel Conor's rage, anger, sadness and guilt throughout the story, eventually making me cry at the end due to the sheer power of the conflicting emotions.

Overall, I thought this book was excellent!

Rachel, Yr 12