A Monster Calls: Patrick Ness

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I cried for a solid hour, and even when I was able to stop myself, the total shaking of my body didn't stop. Conor learns that it's okay to feel the way he does and this allows him to accept the truth about his mother’s illness. The monster awakens from the yew tree to destroy the parson's house and raze it to the ground as punishment.

Despite the monster's imposing figure, Conor isn't afraid because it isn't the monster he truly fears—the one that visits him every night in the shape of his recurring nightmare. The author’s note is beautiful, and you should read it and then put the book down because you’ve just read the best part and it will not get better. Conor thus exhibits conflicting emotions: he wants the waiting regarding her illness to be over, but he is also desperate for her not to die. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. Combining elements of a sci-fi thriller with the abstract and philosophical, this is bold, unusual and beautifully written.At the end of the book, when Conor is with his mother in the hospital, he notices that the time is getting closer to 12:07. At first, in the beginning of the book, when he started declaring about his "many names" and how awesome, powerful, and ageless he was, I thought, oh, here we go again, another mightier-than-thou, idiotic deity, but Ness's monster talks the talk, and walks the walk superbly and graciously. Visceral, dark, sad, beautiful, hopeful and really, really angry, this is a beautifully structured, dense, layered novel about the monster that touchesus all at some point. School offers no escape from Conor's miserable reality either as he finds himself between bullies who pick on him because they can and teachers who make their pity obvious every time they talk to him.

yr old Conor has so much to deal with right now: mum's protracted battle with cancer, absent dad who left the country to start a new family, targeted by a sociopathic bully at school, rift-distanced best friend, overly efficient gran in suit pants, murderous nightmares, and a tree monster trying to haunt him. Love for Conor, love for his mum, love for his grandma, and love for everyone who has ever experienced a profound loss. An old king who has lost his entire family, except a young grandson, remarries a beautiful young woman many claim to be a witch. He has won numerous awards, including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Booktrust Teenage Prize, and the Costa Children’s Book Award. It tells stories that reflect Conor's anger and teach him to see and react differently to his circumstances.Conor feels alienated by the way Conor's father's accent and pet names have changed since he moved to the States. When she tells Conor she can’t imagine what he’s going through, however, the statement only isolates him and makes him feel even more upset.

Conor holds his mother as she is dying, knowing that it is not his fault and that he can want her to live but also to want the pain to be over. I strongly believe that grief and death are deeply personal things that no one experiences in exactly the same manner. He really began to cry now, more than he thought he'd ever done, more even than when he found out his mum was ill.

Conor thinks that the witch queen represents his grandmother and he is disappointed when the monster saves her. I could also relate to Conor's feelings of being alone, ignored, and being treated "specially" just because of circumstance.