Review: A Monster Calls by: Patrick Ness

          Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls is the heartbreaking story of Conor and how he copes with loss and loneliness.  Ness has created a dialogue between characters that is incredibly realistic.  He is able to capture the naivete of a young child but also show the maturity and strength that Conor possesses while coping with traumatic events in his life.  Conor is alone and ostracized by his peers, pushed to the side by his family, and the one person who he depends on does not have the strength to take care of him anymore.  He is forced to grow up, forced to find his own strength, forced to deal with the Monster inside.

          The adults in Ness's book are also complex, we see them from the perspective of Conor, in that case many of them are cold and too busy to bother comforting him.  But in some we see another side, and incredibly painful sadness which in Conor's presence is masked to show strength but comes off as coldness and indifference.  There are so many levels of love and strength within Ness's book and the understanding between the characters (or at times, lack of) is so realistic that it made my heart hurt.  The fear and sadness that a child feels when lonely, and those same emotions felt by adults that must keep them inside to hold everything together.  The conversations between Conor and the adults around him hit very close to home.  They are raw and the tone of them, from the words on the page to the echo of those words in my mind, is so perfect, so awkwardly sad, but perfect. 

          And than there is the Monster.  I will not say too much about him other than he is not what I expected, but the concept of the Monster is so perfect, so honest, almost awful, but completely understandable.  Ness is awesome.  This is definitely a book that surprised me, it was nothing like what I imagined it to be but wonderful none the less.  Ness has a voice that is worth reading, an instant favorite it my book!