A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

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 nightmare 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, though, is something different. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth." -Amazon

First of all, we all need to bow down to Mr. Patrick Ness.  He is a wordsmith of the ages.

This story is beautiful in it's complicated simplicity.  Conor's mother is dying of cancer, and he must learn how to face not only this monster killing her but also his feelings and future without her.  The characters have depth and imperfections and there are definitely some tearjerker scenes, especially between Conor and his mother.  I'll leave you with a quote that resonated with me in a deep way: 

“Your mind will believe comforting lies while also knowing the painful truths that make those lies necessary. And your mind will punish you for believing both.”

4.5/5

224 pages