"A Monster Calls" was written by Patrick Ness back in 2011. The idea of the book was conceived by the late young adult novelist, Siobhan Dowd, who passed away from cancer before she could even start the book. I picked it up at my local bookstore out of sheer curiosity, but I didn't know I was in for a surprise. I never thought a book meant for young readers would move me to tears.
"A Monster Calls" puts a very deep twist on the classic boogeyman. If sacrifices horror for a combination of coming-of-age and psychological thriller. The story follows 13-year-old Connor O'Malley. At first, he comes off as your typical 13-year-old boy, stubborn and annoying. He is visited every night by a tree-like monster. It's always seven minutes after midnight. 12:07 is a repeating time throughout the book, and I'll explain later. Anyway, the monster comes three times, to tell Connor three separate stories, and when he visits the fourth time, Connor must tell him the story as well as "The Truth." During the day, we get a deep look into his personal life. It is revealed that Connor's mother is suffering from an unnamed terminal illness, possibly cancer, and as the story progresses, so does her illness.
As I finished the book, I realized that Connor was going through the stages of grief. In the beginning of the book, he is in denial, thinking his mother is going to get better, and everything will be back to normal. Then he goes through the next stage: anger; the fact that he feels he is losing control of his life, and cannot stop his mother's illness fills him with frustration. This is only exacerbated by the bullying he receives in school. Then comes the bargaining stage. Connor's confidence seems to be restored when the doctors decide to try one more treatment on her mother. When that treatment doesn't work, he enters the fourth stage: sadness.
The book reaches its climax at this point, when Connor is forced to confront the nightmare he's been running from throughout the entire story. Throughout the story, the nightmare is vaguely emphasized, obviously to keep the reader intrigued, and the nightmare is in fact. While I won't describe what the nightmare is like, I can tell you it represents the harsh reality of Connor's situation. Connor's mother is dying, and he doesn't want her to, but at the same time, he does because he can't stand seeing her in pain. By finally confronting this, Connor enters the final stage, acceptance. The monster was the manifestation of Connor's grief, and the stories (which I won't go into due to spoilers) represent each of his emotions. The symbolism wasn't very subtle; in fact it was more then obvious from the beginning, but then again, it was a book meant for younger readers.
That's another thing I want to talk about. This book is meant for a younger audience, but the fact it left such an impact on me makes me think that adults should read it as well. The message the book is trying to convey is an upsetting one, but I admire Patrick Ness for it. This is a book that took a risk and delivered a certain story that other stories don't usually have. The horror of the story wasn't coming from the tree monster that visited Connor every night; it's reality that plays as the monster. When we are young, we like to think terrible things can't happen to us, and when they do, we are to scared to face it head-on. That's exactly what Connor was facing when it came to his dying mother. This book was certainly a page-turner and I recommend it to both children and adults. The concept might be upsetting, but then again, it's something we will have to face in life.
But these are just my opinions. Have you read the book? Do you love your mommy and daddy? If so, go hug them and tell them how much you love them! Comment below and have a fun week.
