A Monster Calls
Patrick Ness (from an idea by Siobhan Dowd) (2011)
“A boy whose mother is dying summons a monster made of yew — the tree that grows in graveyards and produces the chemical used in chemotherapy. The monster does not come to heal. It comes to make Conor tell the truth.”
Short Summary
Thirteen-year-old Conor O'Malley is dealing with his mother's terminal cancer when a yew tree monster visits him at 12:07 a.m. The monster tells Conor three stories that systematically dismantle fairy-tale logic — no clear heroes, no clean morals — then demands Conor tell a fourth: the truth about his recurring nightmare. Conor must finally admit that he wants his mother's suffering to end, even if that means she dies. The monster catches him as he lets go.
Detailed Summary
Conor O'Malley is thirteen years old, and his mother is dying of cancer. He knows this, though everyone around him — his mother, his grandmother, his teachers — refuses to say it plainly. Conor has a recurring nightmare he will not describe: a church graveyard, a pit opening, his mother falling, and...