Lucy Banks's Reviews > A Monster Calls

I was in floods of tears throughout... in a good way.

Wow. Just... WOW.

Very few books leave me utterly speechless with wonderment... this was one of them. Utterly beautiful and heart-wrenching in equal measures, and probably one of the best children's books I've ever read (certainly one of the most hard-hitting).

Without spoiling the storyline, it's about a boy whose mother has cancer. He encounters a monster outside his house (the yew tree), who tells him three stories, in exchange for one of his own.

Patrick Ness's style of writing is so deft and economical, and that's what gives this book its overwhelming power. I'll be sharing it with my kids soon (when they're ready to deal with that level of emotion!).