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'When a Monster Calls' by Patrick Ness | Book Review

So Good I Bought It Twice

By Joe HarrisPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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Conor O’Malley is a 13-year-old boy struggling to come to terms with his mother’s recent cancer diagnosis. He struggles to come to terms with his mum’s inevitable death and now he has a monster harassing him in his dreams, or is it a dream?

What did I like?

What I enjoyed most about this book was how real it felt to read. You follow Conor as he tries to come to terms with something that someone that age shouldn’t have to deal with. When I first read the book I could only acknowledge that what Conor was going through was sad and difficult through the detailed writing. It is only now that I have experienced such a heartbreaking grief that I now understand just how well Conor’s grief was dealt with in this book.

Another main factor that pulled my attention to this book was the intricate and beautiful illustrations done by Jim Kay. My relationship with illustration and art has always been tenuous, spurred on by my lack of artistic skills, however, the haunting and intricate sketches gave the story to life. There is a perfect balance of blank pages and full double pages filled with nothing but monochrome illustrations. Jim’s realisation of the monster helped my imagination form the monster Conor describes, making the whole reading experience much more exciting.

Will it be your cup of tea?

If you are looking for a light-hearted, enjoyable read. This book is most likely not for you. The themes of grief and loss are so prominently featured that it can sometimes be rather hard to read without getting emotional. However, despite the books’ tough themes, it is a book that transcends it’s young target market and explores grief that can be felt and understood by readers of every age.

The Author

A British-American author of young adult novels, Patrick Ness is more widely known for his popular young adult trilogy Chaos Walking. For me, When a Monster Calls, was my first introduction to this unique author.

The story was first created by Siobhan Dowd, who came up with the story while she had cancer; unfortunately, she was not able to complete the story before her death. It was then that Patrick Ness was selected to help complete Dowd’s novel in his own vision. It is this sad back-story that clearly helps inspire the themes in the story and shapes the realism of the characters’ pain.

On the Big Screen

Like in most cases, it is hard to talk about a book in this day and age without at least referencing the movie adaption. This is one of the rare collaborations between book and film that I actually thoroughly enjoyed in its entirety. Starring Liam Neeson, Felicity Jones, and Sigourney Weaver, the film keeps close to what makes this story so special and real while creating something that appeals to a cinema audience and fans of the novel.

Final Thoughts

Did I enjoy the book? Yes! Definitely. This has solidified itself as one of my favourite books. So good in fact that I currently have two copies. As I have grown and experienced new parts of my life this book has continued to remain just as good as when I first read it.

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About the Creator

Joe Harris

A lover of writing with a tonne of thoughts and opinions stuck in his head. Lets see what comes out!

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