Ellen's Reviews > A Monster Calls

A heartbreaking book about a boy with a very sick mother who is being visited nightly by a monster who comes from the yew tree in his backyard. (Stuff of childhood nightmares for me right there.) Refusing to be afraid of this monster, because his own darkest fears are so much scarier, the boy agrees to hear the three stories the monster has to tell him and then, reluctantly, to tell his own. The monster's stories are parables and eventually the boy, who is alternately being bullied and pitied at school, begins to understand and to accept ownership of his own actions and emotions.

Patrick Ness was asked to write this book based on the notes and outline Siobhan Dowd left at her own untimely death. It felt to me like a book, almost a love letter, written to young adults facing the death of a beloved adult. This is a book that could help a hurting teen begin the healing process and definitely one to bring to the attention of their teachers, parents and counselors.

A very quick read, but one that I will want to re-read.