A Monster Calls
📘 About This Book
The bestselling novel and major film about love, loss and hope from the twice Carnegie Medal-winning Patrick Ness.Conor has the same dream every night, ever since his mother first fell ill, ever since she started the treatments that don't quite seem to be working. But tonight is different. Tonight, when he wakes, there's a visitor at his window. It's ancient, elemental, a force of nature. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth. Patrick Ness takes the final idea of the late, award-winning writer Siobhan Dowd and weaves an extraordinary and heartbreaking tale of mischief, healing and above all, the courage it takes to survive.
📖 Summary
A Monster Calls follows thirteen-year-old Conor O’Malley, a boy struggling to cope with his mother’s terminal cancer and his own feelings of isolation. Conor lives in a state of suspended dread, managing the household chores while facing bullying at school and a strained relationship with his cold, distant grandmother. At 12:07 AM, an ancient yew tree in the nearby graveyard transforms into a towering monster. The monster arrives not to comfort Conor, but to tell him three stories. These tales are neither straightforward nor moralistic; they are chaotic, dark, and complex, challenging Conor’s binary perception of the world where people are either purely good or purely evil. As the monster tells his stories, he demands a fourth from Conor: the truth. The story serves as an allegory for the psychological agony of anticipating grief. Throughout the narrative, Conor harbors a recurring nightmare—a secret he cannot bring himself to voice. This nightmare represents his deepest guilt: the subconscious desire for his mother’s pain to end, even if it means losing her. The monster acts as an externalization of Conor's subconscious, forcing him to confront the messy, contradictory reality of human emotions. Through the final confrontation with the monster, Conor learns that it is possible to love someone deeply while simultaneously wishing for their suffering to cease, and that holding onto these conflicting feelings is not a sign of moral failing, but a necessary step in the grieving process. The climax is a raw, heart-wrenching moment of emotional catharsis that allows Conor to finally let go of his denial. By speaking his truth, Conor finds the strength to face his mother’s final moments with honesty and grace. The book explores the difficulty of acceptance, the complexity of truth, and the necessity of acknowledging one's darkest thoughts to heal. It is a profound meditation on loss, illustrating that while grief is destructive, the act of accepting it is what ultimately allows a person to survive.
🎯 Key Lessons
💬 Notable Quotes
"Stories are wild creatures, the monster said. When you let them loose, who knows what havoc they might wreak?"
"You do not write your life with words. You write it with actions. What you think is not nearly so important as what you do."
"Stories are important. They can be more important than anything. If they carry the truth."
"You believe everything and nothing all at the same time. And that is how you survive."
"I know everything there is to know about you, Conor O'Malley. I know why you called me. I know why you are really here."
"And that is the truth. The truth that Conor had been hiding from, the truth that he had been screaming inside his head for the entire time his mother had been ill."
⚖️ Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
Profound, emotionally resonant writing that avoids clichés.
Haunting and atmospheric illustrations by Jim Kay that enhance the narrative.
Addresses heavy themes with profound empathy and intelligence.
⚠️ Cons
The heavy subject matter may be too emotionally taxing for some readers.
The pacing is quite melancholic, which might feel slow for those seeking an action-heavy plot.
✍️ About the Author
Patrick Ness (b. 1971) is a British-American author known for young adult fiction including 'A Monster Calls' and the 'Chaos Walking' trilogy.
View all books →❓ FAQ
Is this book worth reading? +
Yes, it is widely considered a modern masterpiece for its raw, honest, and beautifully illustrated look at grief.
How long does it take to read? +
It is a short novel, typically taking between 2 to 4 hours to read depending on your reading speed.
What is the main message? +
The main message is that complex, contradictory emotions are a natural part of grief, and healing begins with speaking the truth.
