Note: There are so many reviews i need to update you on. i have discovered some wonderful aussie books. you have such gems to look out for. jellicoe road and the pipers son by melina marchetta, grafitti moon and a little wanting son by cath crawley (which i will be reviewing on the blog soon. they are lovely reads) the book thief by marcus zusak. This is shyness, jasper jones and fury are also a few others i look forward to. I just watched my week with marilyn. had a lot of great moments. and although i was really worried about her playing marilyn, i think she did a darn good job. some very quotable moments there too. And then last night i watched Watchmen with the little bro (was badass. rorschach anyone?) had a good time with it. got some crisps and chocolate and drinks and had our own little bonding movie night :)
Rating:
After all the wonderful reviews on here, I knew I had to buy this book. So I walked into my local book-store today, determined and with a purpose. Determined that I was going to leave with this book in my hand. I walked in knowing that I had only ever seen one copy of the book in the store. So all I could do was cling on to hope. Thank god. The relief I felt at A MONSTER CALLS sitting there, almost waiting for me, is just indescribable.
I started it two hours ago. I read it in one sitting.
I think I expected it to be more like full-on grief books. Where there's a lot of heavy punches and an element of surprise. But with this book, things were more subtle, but amazingly, it had the same impact - if not more. I don't think I've ever seen that before. The author is obviously very talented.
I cried. I did. More than once. And the first time it happened I didn't see it coming at all. But the tears wouldn't stop. I'm still not quite myself. Normally you read something profound, you let it out and eventually you move on. I think this one is going to stick around for a while.
There are so many people out there who have gone through and are going through what Conor is. But the way this story is told and the way it handles this subject matter is just amazing in my opinion. Such sensitivity and understanding. You watch on as this boy is in such denial that he almost starts to believe it himself. He believes that his mother is going to be ok, that his grandmother is the enemy. And it is absolutely heart - breaking, because all I can keep thinking about, is how much I want to take this scared, lost and grieving boy in my arms and tell him how sorry I am.
But there is someone who wants something from him. Who has come to him for a purpose, The Monster. But this monster isn't the one that enters his nightmares, this is a different monster. A monster that he soon finds himself growing dependent on and seeking out for guidance in due time. The monster might just be my favourite character of all.
I have to mention Harry. I don't think I have ever been more creeped out by a Bully. And it's not the bullying I'm talking about, it's the way he silently observes him, the way he understands. It's so wrong. That the one person who makes your life hell, may just understand you more than anyone else. It's so much easier when they're just pain ruthless - when they have no motive. What do you say to a bully who actually gets you? Can you be any more crueller?
I know many have said this already. But buy the hardback copy. The illustrations just fit so perfectly with the story. It gives you a whole other reading experience
There were moments in this book that really made me stop for a second, close my eyes and breathe. Because how else do you deal with something so cruel but so out of your reach. His mother and his grandma are two women that I have so much love for. I am amazed by his mother, truly. How despite the fact she is going through so much pain, it's Conor she worries for. And it goes both ways. He loves and respects her dearly. They share a beautiful relationship, and that only makes it all the more harder. Whilst on the other hand, his father is a man that makes me grit my teeth in such frustration. I am just disgusted by him. The monster makes me want to take a step and perhaps face a few blocked out fears of my own, and Conor? He makes me care, so, so much.
I leave you with some of my favourite moments :)
“I wish I had a hundred years, she said, very quietly. A hundred years I could give to you.”
Then the monster did something it hadn't done until now. It sat down.
"I can't," Conor said again. You can, said the monster, and then there was a change in its voice.
A note of something.
Of kindness.
It was not wrong, the monster said. It was only a thought, one of a million. It was not an action.
"I guess we'll never find out," Harry said, "what it is O'Malley wants."
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