Tuesdays with Ambrea: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

 

Reviewed by Ambrea

Ever since his mother was diagnosed with cancer, Conor has experienced the same nightmare over and over again.  Darkness, wind, screams—it’s not just a nightmare anymore, but the Nightmare.  The one he has almost every night.  One night, however, Conor wakes and discovers he has a visitor:  a monster has come calling and it has stories to tell—true stories that will make Conor finally see the truth he’s avoided all along.

I’ve been interested in reading Patrick Ness’s books for a very long time.  In fact, I have several of his novels on my reading list, but I’ve never picked up one of his books, until now—and I can’t help wondering why I waited so long, because his work is extraordinary.  A Monster Calls is an amazing novel that packs a wallop, but, even more so, it’s beautifully written, complex, rich, and gripping.  It’s a story that will stick it’s hooks into your heart and never let go.

Originally, I picked up A Monster Calls with the intention of reading it for Halloween.  Here was a book about monsters, so it was the perfect pick for the spooky season, right?

Well.  Yes, and no.

Yes, it features a monster or two; however, it isn’t so simple as a monster terrorizing a teenager or a spooky story for the holiday season.  It’s a complicated, compelling—and, truthfully, heart-wrenching—story about grief and loss, fear and pain, truth and fairness.  Like the monster’s stories for Conor, this novel subverts all my expectations and turns the story on its head.  I expected to be unsettled or, worse, terrified by a monster; I didn’t expect to feel like I’d just had my heart torn out and trampled. 

A Monster Calls is not a horror story—at least, not your standard horror story.  It doesn’t have creatures that will jump out and scare you; it doesn’t have ghosts that will terrify you; it doesn’t have blood and gore and horror movie levels of carnage.  Instead, it looks at real loss and fear and grief.  It looks the nightmare of losing the absolute most important person in your life, along with the fear, guilt, and grief that comes with it. 

It’s very real, it’s very raw, and it’s very painful.

I’ll be honest, Ness’s novel gutted me.  A Monster Calls isn’t just a spooky story or a tear-jerker; it’s a one-two punch-in-the-stomach kind of book.  It’s one of those rare stories that takes brass knuckles to your chest and leaves your heart feeling bruised, possibly bettered, very likely broken, but you thank the author anyway.  To put it simply, it gave me a lot of feelings—and, even though it’s been a few months, I’m still processing.

A Monster Calls is a beautiful, terrible story.  It’s also easily one of my favorite YA novels of all time.