When a Monster Helps Heal a Broken Heart

What happens when a child faces the possibility of losing the person he loves most?
In A Monster Calls, Patrick Ness tells a moving story about grief, fear and the difficult truths we sometimes hide even from ourselves. Through an ancient monster and three strange stories, this unforgettable book reminds us that accepting our feelings is an act of courage.

A Monster Calls,
written by Patrick
Ness and inspired by an original idea from Siobhan Dowd, follows thirteen-year-old Conor O'Malley, whose mother is seriously ill with cancer.
Conor is struggling with much more than his mother's illness. At school, he faces bullying and isolation. At home, he is frightened of what the future might bring. His father lives far away, and his grandmother's presence makes him uncomfortable. Everyone seems to expect him to be brave, but nobody really understands what he is going through.
Then, one night, a monster visits him.
The monster resembles an enormous ancient yew tree. It appears at seven minutes past midnight and announces that it will tell Conor three stories. After that, Conor must tell the monster his own truth - the truth he is most afraid to admit.
The monster's stories are unusual. They challenge the simple ideas of good and evil, showing that people can be complicated, that appearances can deceive us, and that doing the right thing is not always easy.
But the real mystery is not the monster. It is the truth Conor is hiding inside himself.
As his mother's condition worsens, Conor struggles with feelings of anger, guilt, fear and love. He is terrified of losing his mother, yet he also carries a terrible thought that makes him feel ashamed.
The monster helps him confront that thought without judging him. Conor gradually discovers that painful feelings do not make him a bad person.
Why is this book important?
Many children's books teach that good people are brave, happy and kind. A Monster Calls offers a more honest picture of childhood.
Children can experience jealousy, anger, resentment and even frightening thoughts when someone they love is suffering. They may feel guilty simply because these emotions arise.
This book tells them that having a difficult feeling is not the same as doing something wrong.
It also explores grief before a loss occurs. When someone is terminally ill, the family may begin grieving even while that person is still alive. This is sometimes called anticipatory grief.
The book gives children a way to understand this confusing experience. Its message is not that sadness disappears or that every problem has a happy ending. Rather, it shows that facing reality can be less frightening than endlessly running away from it.
What should children learn from the book?

• It is okay not to feel okay. Sadness, anger and fear are natural human emotions.
• Tell someone how you feel. Sharing painful thoughts with a trusted adult can help reduce loneliness.
• People are complicated. Someone can be loving and still make mistakes; a person can have conflicting feelings without being entirely good or bad.
• You are not responsible for everything. Children should not blame themselves for an illness or for circumstances beyond their control.
• Courage means facing the truth. Being brave does not mean never crying or feeling afraid.
• Grief is personal. There is no single correct way to experience loss.
  Final words
  A Monster Calls is not simply a book about a monster. It is about the monsters that live inside our fears, our guilt and our unspoken feelings. It reminds young readers that love and pain can exist together, and that accepting a difficult truth does not mean giving up hope.
  The book was adapted into the 2016 film A Monster Calls, directed by J. A. Bayona, featuring Lewis MacDougall as Conor, Felicity Jones as his mother and Liam Neeson as the monster's voice. There is no widely established television series based on the novel.
  Read this book not because it promises to make sadness disappear, but because it helps readers understand that even the most painful feelings deserve to be heard.

Best Quotes from the Book

• These short lines capture the book's emotional depth:
• “Stories are wild creatures.”
• “You do not write your life with words.”
• “You were merely wishing for the end of pain.”
  The first reminds us that stories can change how we understand ourselves. The second suggests that life is shaped by our choices, not just the words we use to describe it. The third captures Conor's painful struggle to accept feelings he cannot easily explain.

About the Author
Patrick Ness

Patrick Ness is an American-born British author known for writing emotionally powerful books for young adults. His celebrated Chaos Walking trilogy explores identity, freedom and difficult moral choices. With A Monster Calls, he created a story that speaks to children and adults alike.
The original idea came from Siobhan Dowd, an acclaimed children's author who was also diagnosed with cancer and died in 2007 before she could write the book. Ness developed her idea into the finished novel, while illustrator Jim Kay created its haunting, atmospheric artwork. The book won the Carnegie Medal and the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2012, recognising both its writing and illustrations.