A gorgeous dark fantasy tale, full of heart and passion, this short novel is heightened by beautiful charcoal drawings which lift the tale and bring its heartrending story to life.
From the blurb;
'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.'
Taken over by Patrick Ness after the premature death of Siobhan Dowd, A Monster Calls is a passion project of Ness's and a heart-wrenching swan song from Dowd.
Bought to life as a movie in 2016 A Monster Calls caught the imagination of thousands on it's release. However, the book, filled with the artistic work of Jim Kay, remains the stand out short read that will leave it's impression long after closing.
Not for the feint of heart A Monster Calls comes with several trigger warnings, as it tackles the idea of loss, heart break, and loneliness through the eyes of our young protagonist.
A story that will leave even the most stoic of readers in tears, A Monster Calls is a reckoning tale of illness, and the struggles that those who love the one who is unwell go through. This message is made more harrowing by the loss of Dowd who died of cancer while conceiving the tale leaving it to be bought to life by friend and peer Ness who was experiencing the pain and struggle Dowd had imagined.
We can only applaud Ness for bringing this story to life in a beautiful, touching manner, filled with monstrous intrigue and carried by emotional impact.
We give A Monster Calls Four Stars
ISBN - 978-1-4063-1152-5 Hardback Cover price - £12.99 First published in 2011 by Walker Books Ltd.
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