A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness, Jim Kay

I don’t remember where I saw this book suggestion at, but boy do I wish I did. Mainly so I could give them a huge high five and a great big thanks. This book was damn good and I am still not sure how I am feeling after reading it. I can tell you what I felt while I read it, though. I wanted to scream in frustration, I was utterly despaired, I was angry at the unfairness in the world, but most of all I was breathless at how beautifully written this story was. Not only was the story just damn good, but the illustrations were incredible.

I guess I should tell you what it is about eh? Well Conor is a 13 year old boy that has been having nightmares. A monster shows up after midnight; however, it is not the monster he has been terrified of in his nightmares. This monster takes the form of an elm tree. This monster may or may not even be a monster at all. That is for you, the reader, to decide. This monster doesn’t want his soul or any crazy damnation type deal that you find in other horror stories. This monster wants what Conor is most afraid of, and will destroy him in the worst possible way; it wants the truth.

It is so hard to explain this book. You can’t explain vulnerability or tragedy or the monsters that scare us in life. My advice is to read the book. I give it a solid 5 stars. That is definitely saying something considering I have had a hate/hate relationship with the other teen books I have read lately. This one death with such a sensitive topic in a vivid inventive way. All I can say is this: Read this book!

(oh and p.s. if you’re a wimp or have even part of a soul....you might need a box of tissues)