A Monster Calls

A Monster Calls

by Patrick Ness

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.

This was a beautiful story!  I'm coming to realize that any book I pick up by Patrick Ness is going to be rated highly.  The man is a genius with words.  After reading The Knife Of Never Letting Go I knew that anything written by him was going to make me a gooey mess.  Anything written by him in honor of a friend who died of cancer?  Priceless.
This is me:

This is me on Patrick Ness:

Conor is coping the best he can while his mother undergoes treatment for cancer. 
Sometimes his best just isn't good enough. 
At school, people are starting to pretend he's invisible just so they don't have to think about him or his mom.  Everyone except the bullies, that is. 
His grandma's house is like a museum, and how is he supposed to live there when it seems cleaner than his mom's hospital room?
His dad is a jerk.  Seriously. 
And his mom is dying.
The monster helps him learn to cope in the way only a giant tree monster can: by destroying.
The writing was beautiful and the imagery and feeling behind the words really pulled me into the story. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone.