The Monster Calls

The monster first showed up after midnight- as they do- calling his name: Conor. For all intents and purposes, Conor should be terrified, yet he isn't because there are things that terrify him more. For example, the nightmare. The one he has had a lot lately, the one he's rather not talking about. Just like he'd rather not talk about being bullied at school; or about not being on speaking terms with his former best friend Lily; about his mom's cancer treatments.
Conor is really not having the best of times which is why it sounds utterly ridiculous to him when this monster, a creature out of the worst nightmare ( or perhaps, not the worst nightmares, for they are of a different kind) shows up to tell him stories. He says he will tell Conor three stories and at the end of it, Conor will have to tell a fourth and that story will be the truth.
I don't know what I was expecting from A Monster Calls but it most certainly wasn't this... this explosive awesomeness. I did not expect this book to be this exceptional and there is really no better word for it.
It is superb in its storytelling as it celebrates storytelling itself as the Monster tells his stories. It is unforgettable as it follows a young boy dealing with the saddest thing of all: the prospect of losing a mother. It is hopeful and beautiful even as it leads to the liberal production of heartfelt tears.
Sometimes people ask me why I read this or why I read that: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Middle Grade, you name it, I have been asked why I read it. The answer is really simple: I do it because I love good stories and I don't care what shape or form (or genre or category) they appear before me. I do it because just like the Monster says in this book:

                                   "Stories are the wildest things of all".