A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.

But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming...

This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth.

What a lovely book this was. I love to be able to recommend a book for all ages, and this is definitely one of them.

Its structure, I thought, was clever. It has an almost fairytale feeling to it, with a good dose of fantasy mixed in with reality, and even a few stories-within-stories that add to the novel’s depth. The subject is not light, though; it deals with death and loss, and with the anger at feeling useless in the face of that loss. Not a light read, but one that goes by quickly, since the pacing is masterfully handled.

The protagonist, Conor, is completely real. There’s just no chance for the reader not to identify with him and his struggles, no matter what age you might be. The mixture of despair and hope running through his head is expertly written. The other characters are just as vivid, even the monster, which is not an easy thing to accomplish. One “real” character is hard enough, but an entire book full of them? Incredible.

I truly enjoyed this book. And I highly, highly recommend it to everyone.