A+Monster+Calls



This strange, disturbing, but ultimately very beautiful book inspired me quite a bit. I found the illustrations to be alarmingly perfect for the book - frightening black and white images mirror the horror of the nightmares that Conor is having - and begins to have when he is awake as well. Ness (author of the Chaos Walking trilogy- another of my FAVORITES and not to be missed!) creates a suspenseful story which was apparently inspired by Siobhan Dowd who wrote //The London Eye Mystery//, and other books. Conor is plagued by nightmares, but when the Yew tree becomes monstrous and starts telling strange stories to Conor in the night, then demands that Conor tell HIS story, he is petrified, because his own story is the most scary of them all. In the morning, sure it's been a dream, he is frightened to find yew berries and other remnants in his room. Conor is pretty much on his own, and the reasons for this unfold gracefully, giving the reader only a peep into the life he is leading. Ness builds the story carefully and tenderly before unveiling the perfect denouement.
 * Book Summary:**



Here is a link explaining the art work by Jim Kay... [|See info on the artwork here]

I didn't really enjoy the story for a while, and I thought the yew tree monster was hokey, but when I began thinking more deeply about the meanings of the monster, and about Conor and his complicated situation, I grew to really appreciate the beauty of this well-crafted story. Plus, I just love Patrick Ness; he had me completely captivated with The Knife of Never Letting Go, so I continued with the rest of that series. What a vivid imagination he has!
 * Did I Like It?**

Lisa H / Hoodzie123
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Number of Raffle Tickets: (image = 1) (summary = 1) (Did I Like It? = 1) (number of pages - 224 = 2) (listened to it on audio from NH Downloadable Books = 0) (I included my name and username = 1) TOTAL TICKETS - 6
 * Number of Pages: (You all must know that I don't get ANY tickets, right???) ;)**