A Monster Calls
Rating: 5 Stars
Version: eBook
Author: Patrick Ness
GoodReads
Summary:
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.
Review:
I’ve wanted to
read this book for a while, so when I saw it was on sale for $3 at Amazon, I
didn’t hesitate to purchase it! Overall, the book was an enjoyable read, but
there were some things I didn’t enjoy. For example, I didn’t like beginning’s ambiguity,
nor did I like how it ended. However, I was prepared for the latter, since many
blogs had mentioned their disappointment too – yes, I did my research. For
those who also want to read this book, I think I should mention it contains a
bit of British influence. It’s not a bad thing; it was just something I wasn’t
use to.
As I mentioned
above, there is a lot of ambiguity towards the beginning of the story. I didn’t
really notice this until someone asked me to describe what I was reading.
Afterwards, I had a hard time coming up with an explanation. For example:
- You know Connor’s mom is sick, but you don't know from what (specifically), thought it’s safe to assume cancer.
- You know Connor is having nightmares, but you don't know what about.
- Connor caused the Yew tree to come walking, but he (or you) doesn’t know why.
I should also
mention that I was 75% of the way through this book and the only thing I knew
for sure was who was related to whom and that an ancient yew tree came to tell Connor three stories... that's it. I also noticed
that the book sounded elementary, but trust me it’s not!
As for Connor, he
struggles to cope with his mother’s condition. He really just wants things to
go back to normal, but of course, it’s not that simple. His classmates isolate
him as if he is a disease, and his teachers constantly pity him. Connor keeps mentioning that he wants to be
punished, because being punished means that he’s not pitied. At one point,
Connor badly beats a bully (Harry) to the point of hospitalization, but instead
of being expelled as he hoped, the principal simply dismisses him.
“He
was going to be punished. It was finally going to happen. Everything was going
to make sense again. She was going to expel him. Punishment was coming. Thank
God. Thank God-
“But
how could I do that?” The headmistress said. “How could I do that and still
call myself a teacher?” she said. “With all that you’re going through.”
At one point I
thought, “Maybe the yew tree signifies his inner struggles, his way of dealing
with the enormous amount of pressure, stress, and worry that he’s under.” After
all, there was a section of the story that said he could feel his actions, but
they weren't his doing. Throw in the fact that only Connor - out of a cafeteria
full of students - could see the giant yew tree, and you have either the above situation or schizophrenia. However, physical proof always remained after the tree’s
visit, so I guess it was real?
The ending was
extremely sad and I’m not going to spoil it. All I will say, is Connor
finally had to face his inner truth. I've had a very similar experience and it really hurt to emphasize with Connor because it brought back
tough memories.
Everyone should have to read this book.
1 comments :
Sounds like a pretty different kind of book and very interesting if a bit confusing, will have to add it to the TBR list!
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