Book Club Review: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

For every book we read during the book club, one of our book club members will write a review. This way anyone who couldn’t be there, can still join in with the fun! Our twelfth YA book is A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and the review is written by Maaike van der Vlis.

“There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between.”

At first I was a little skeptic, because A Monster Calls was labeled as a middle grade novel. I was worried that the book would turn out a little childish, but man this book was everything and beyond. It was such a good novel, I just couldn’t stop reading. In the book we follow this boy Connor who goes through a very rough time. You get a glimpse of  his life where his mother is sick and he gets bullied a lot at school. One night he gets a visit from a monster who wants to help him by telling stories until Connor can finally tell him (and his mother) the truth.

While reading this book you just can’t help but feel sorry for this boy. You feel tons of uncontrollable emotions,  while seeing Connor's  life evolve and you get punched in the heart every time you turn a page. The monster is a character you don’t really get to understand until the end of the book, because only then you get to see who he really is and what his intentions were. That’s also the moment your emotions lose control and  it’s hard not to drop a tear. This book gives you feelings you never knew you had before. It takes you back to your saddest moments and let’s you understand that sometimes it’s okay to cry and just let go. Reading the book is an experience you will never forget. I highly recommend this book to an audience of all ages because even young kids will learn so much from this book. If you enjoyed reading A Monster Calls, we have some other book recommendations as well!