Hardcover, 226 pages
English language
Published Nov. 6, 2011 by Walker Books Ltd..
A Monster Calls is a low fantasy novel written for young adults by Patrick Ness (from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd) illustrated by Jim Kay and published by Walker in 2011. Set in present-day England, it features a boy who struggles to cope with the consequences of his mother's illness. He is repeatedly visited in the middle of the night by a monster who tells stories. Dowd was terminally ill with cancer when she came up with the idea for the story, and died before she could write it.Ness and Kay respectively won the Carnegie Medal and the Greenaway Medal in 2012, the "year's best" children's literary awards by the British librarians (CILIP). A Monster Calls is the only book to have won both Medals.The novel was adapted into the 2016 film of the same name.
Gosh this one ripped my heart out... I don't even know if I'm able to say anything right to express how much this book made me feel. For everyone going or who went through a loved one's sickness, this is a book that might held a lot of answers. And for everyone else it is a great story. A wild one, a hard one, but a great story.
I know I was supposed to be reading The Name of the Wind on this trip back home, but I really wanted to prolong my enjoyment of that book and decided to read a small book. And of all the books to choose from I chose A Monster Calls. All I can say is that I'm thankful that the bus is dark so no one can see me even if I shed a tear or two. This book was not at all what I expected. Maybe a little later I'll be able to elaborate but not now. For now my ratings and what little I've written would have to do for a review.
