A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness Review

Title: A Monster Calls
Author: Patrick Ness
Published: September 27th, 2011 by Walker Books
Book rating: 5 stars
Cover rating: 5 stars
Format: Hardback, 205 pages
Source: Library

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.

I've seen A Monster Calls on several blogs that I love, but the one that convinced me to read this book and add it to my TBR was my good friend Rola's blog XO Reads. When I saw it at the library I snatched it up and couldn't wait to dive in. I was in the mood for horror soon after that and picked up this book hoping it could give me a good scare, it didn't do exactly what I was hoping for but I loved it either way. 

A Monster Calls is a tale about a young boy who is in need of saving, from what? Well his own kind of monster really. Every night at 12:07 Conor is visited by a yew tree monster who pushes Conor to his truth, his reality. Conor has worked really hard to ignore it and bury it deep inside but the Monster tells him the only way to be okay is to face it. I was surprised to see this was considered YA because Conor was so young, but I forget that YA is targeted for young teenagers as well not just older ones. I just rarely read books with such young MC's so when I found out how young Conor was I wasn't sure if I could connect with him or if I'd enjoy this book as much but I was mistaken. I think anyone at any age could connect with him and what he goes through in this book. He struggles to come to terms with his reality, hoping he can just ignore it or pretend it isn't there. He struggles with how he feels about what's going on in his life and I think this is just so relatable. At times I feel certain ways about a difficult situation and I sit there and think, that isn't right. But who's to say what is right and wrong? Life is complicated and so are so many situations we as humans are faced with and our reactions can't always be perfect but that isn't to say they aren't okay. The emotions A Monster Calls evoked inside of me were so powerful and real. I loved how the story was told and how the Monster taught Conor lessons by telling different tales from the past.

A Monster Calls was one of the most enjoyable books about coming to terms with your reality and accepting it that I've ever read. Patrick Ness turned this idea into such a beautiful story with extraordinary fast paced writing that will be sure to pull at anyone's heart and make them feel like they're experiencing everything alongside Conor. 

Favorite Quotes

"The monster showed up after midnight. As they do."

"Your mind will believe comforting lies while also knowing the painful truths that make those lies necessary. And your mind will punish you for believing both."

"There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somwhere in between."

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