Madeleine, 13, Cockermouth UK
As disturbing as it is poignant, A Monster Calls has survived as being one of my favorite books for a great length of time.
Written by Patrick Ness and based on the final idea of Siobhan Dowd who died as a result of cancer before the completion of the novel, it portrays the story of twelve year old Connor who has been visited by a monster every night following his mother's treatment for her severe cancer. However, this time, the monster returns every night with a tale to which Connor listens, and with every night, his realisation of the harrowing conclusion to his own tale draws ever closer.
One of my favourite books ever! I love the narrative structure and the fairy tales the monster tells; I particularly love the first story. This is both breathtakingly sophisticated and devastatingly simple storytelling at its best. At the end, I was cheering through my tears.
ReplyDeleteSee also Nick's review of this book.
On the Patrick Ness site, here (http://www.patrickness.com/2013/12/i-made-the-black-list-a-good-o.html) he says that his screenplay for A Monster Calls has made the Hollywood 'Black List', for the best currently unproduced script.
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