A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

(4.5/5 stars)

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.

So my thought process before I actually read this book was like "hey, I'll read this and post a review right before Halloween because monsters are scary" or something along those lines. Not the case. Not the case at all. I was very wrong. I went into this book looking for something kind of scary and came out pondering about life and loss and everything in between.

What I liked: The book is beautifully written; hauntingly so to say the least. The illustrations are stunning and are a perfect companion to such a tale as this one. The plot is one that really makes you feel. I didn't expect to cry, but I found myself sobbing until the very end. I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts into words right now, it affected me that much. The story is so real and alive, it's practically a monster itself. The quotes are beautiful, every single one of them, and they relate to life so profoundly--and not in a trying-too-hard way. The words come naturally, and that's why it's so hard to separate fiction from reality in this case. Beautiful, just painstakingly and honestly beautiful. 

What I didn't like: The only reason I docked this book a half star is because it took me until about the middle to really get into the story. But once I did, my attention was fully captured and I couldn't put it down. It's a bit of an open-ending, but that's how life is. We don't always get the answers to all the questions we're looking for. And yes, this might be a first in which I defend an open-ending. 

So read this book, you won't regret it. If anything, read it to feel more alive, more human, because that's how I felt when I was finished. Just for one moment, the whole world has changed for me because of this book. It wasn't a long read, but it affected more than many other books ever have or will.

-Annie