J
Jim Kay
Jim Kay is the artist behind the stunning illustrations for Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls. His work brings a powerful visual depth to stories that explore complex emotions.
A Monster Calls
- Pages
- 240
- Published
- 2011
- Language
- English
Synopsis
Thirteen-year-old Conor O'Malley has been having the same nightmare every night since his mother began her treatments. Then, at seven minutes past midnight, a different monster comes walking. Ancient, wild, and rooted in the old yew tree on the hill behind his house, it is nothing like the creature from his dream. This monster wants something Conor cannot bring himself to give: the truth.
Set in contemporary England, A Monster Calls follows a boy trying to hold his life together as his mother grows sicker, the kids at school treat him as invisible or worse, and a brittle grandmother moves into the space his father long ago vacated. The monster promises to tell Conor three stories, and in return it demands a fourth — Conor's own, the one hiding behind the nightmare he refuses to name.
Written by Patrick Ness from an idea conceived by Siobhan Dowd before her death, and illustrated in stark, haunting ink by Jim Kay, this Carnegie Medal-winning novel is an unflinching, deeply humane fable about grief, anger, and the hard mercy of honesty. Short, fierce, and quietly shattering, it speaks to readers of every age who have ever had to let someone go.
Genres
Characters
Conor O'MalleyProtagonist
A thirteen-year-old boy struggling with his mother's terminal illness and his own buried fears.
Harry (A Monster Calls)Antagonist
A popular schoolmate whose bullying of Conor turns out to be one of the only things in Conor's life that still feels normal.
Conor's MotherSupporting
Undergoing treatment for a serious illness; the center of Conor's fear and love.
The Monster (A Monster Calls)Supporting
An ancient, wild being in the form of a walking yew tree that visits Conor at night to tell him three stories and demand a fourth — the truth Conor is hiding.
Grandma (A Monster Calls)Supporting
Conor's stern, tidy grandmother, never given another name in the novel, who moves into the house as his mother's illness worsens.
Carnegie Medal (2012)Kate Greenaway Medal (2012)
Frequently asked questions
Did Siobhan Dowd write A Monster Calls?
No. Siobhan Dowd conceived the original idea, characters, and beginning of the story, but she died of cancer in August 2007 before she could write the novel herself. Walker Books then asked Patrick Ness to write the book from her concept; the finished novel is credited "A novel by Patrick Ness, inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd," and is illustrated by Jim Kay. It won the 2012 Carnegie Medal (writing) and Kate Greenaway Medal (illustration) — the first book to win both in the same year.