A Monster Calls

Ness, Patrick. A Monster Calls. Somerville, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2011.

Plot: Conor fearlessly meets the monster in his room. After all, it is not the one that haunted his dreams since his mother's diagnosis. Yet, the monster warns of greater danger. It will share three stories with Conor, then Conor must share his own story or be eaten. None of the stories make sense to the boy, but they inspire (or force) him to act strangely, violently, and monstrously. He abandons his best friend, destroys his grandmother's house, and injures his school's most popular student. As a result, he finds himself alone with a monster. The monster looms ever nearer, but so does the one thing the boy actually fears. Both meet when his mother's cancer treatments no longer work.

Genre: Horror, Coming of Age, Loss

Reading Level: Grades 5-12

Similar Titles: Pretty Monsters, Tiger Eyes

Personal Thoughts: Ness's novel offers a remarkably intense story of fear, loss, and horror. However, I am not sure if I would recommend it. The core aspect of the story focuses on the valid fear of losing a parent, and, as I mentioned in the review of Tiger Eyes, grief can be difficult to convey effectively to anyone, particularly when the target audience is as emotionally intense as tweens. The blend of two themes, monsters and grief, can also easily disappoint the target audience. Horror story enthusiasts will not find the monster "scary enough," while those attempting to cope with grief may view the story as callously mocking their loss. A Monster Calls offers an unusual and emotional view of grief's stages, but the intended goal may not actually reach the intended readers.