A Monster Calls Review

About the book:

Title: A Monster Calls

Author: Patrick Ness

Genre & Age Group: Fantasy, young adult

Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

Source: Public library

How I Found Out About It: Goodreads/blogging

Review:

When I heard that there was a movie coming out for A Monster Calls, I didn’t hesitate to pick the book up- unwritten rule, must read it before seeing the film! And I totally don’t regret giving this a read, as it was an amazing story, and it made me super pumped to see the upcoming movie!

To synopsize, this book revolves around a teenage boy named Conor. When his mom starts getting treated for an illness, a monster starts arriving at his house every night at 12:07 AM, sharp. He thinks it’s the monster from his recurring nightmares- but it turns out that this one is completely different… he doesn’t want to hurt Conor; he just wants the truth.

At first, Conor is a bit of a naive character. He believes everything he is told, whether true or not, and he just goes with the flow, no matter how dangerous it may be. The monster toughens him up a lot, making him see that it’s not always the right thing to just go along with the flow, and distorts his view of life for the better by making him less scared and more fierce. The character development in this book is totally evident, and I’d like to salute Conor for staying strong, as well as for the amazing changes he goes through!👏👏

I adored the formatting of this book, as well. A Monster Calls is not your regular novel- it is really so much more. It’s like a picture book for teens and adults, which isn’t something one would often come across while browsing through books. The pictures were all black and white, which sometimes frustrated me, and I found myself skipping a lot of them, as the information was right in the text. I do think they’ll be wondrous for those who are more visual learners, though!

Overall, though a bit dark, this book was amazing, and I am super excited for the movie to come out. If you’re looking for a coming-of-age story with lots of character development, an interesting format, and a book to read before seeing the movie, then the monsters are calling you to give this a try!😉

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars