Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

This is a Buddy Read for A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness starting on October 1, 2025.


Happy Reading!

Thank you!
This is a Spooktober thread. Read any time in October!

Check out the list of other scheduled spooky reads in the Spooktober [buddy read] thread, or seek friends for a plan of your own in the [planning] thread!

Reading now... not really a Spooky story... spooky-adjacent, maybe?

I knew that going in... this is a story of grief, with Christmas Carol vibes (the monster visits the MC 3 times, telling stories and helping him come to terms with his mother's impending death...

25% in, and it's just sad, knowing what's coming, and seeing the MC's denial (Stage 1)...

Small side note: This was actually a reading bowl book when I was in middle school...imagine a group of 6th graders reading this for an extracurricular :')

(view spoiler)[
It was so good, we were all sobbing throughout. I think I needed a few days to recover.
(hide spoiler)]

It's definitely a popular book to read as a group, based on the discussion threads:

Someone read it for 9th grade English last month, among 160 other discussions over the years... alot more than most books...

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/list_...

I've forgot that there was a thread for the book, so I'll copypaste my comment here from the Spooktober - thread:
(view spoiler)[I've started A Monster Calls and I forgot on how that book gave me an eerie, but also sad feeling at first.
You learn a lot from Conor's home situation in the first pages and I think it's very real that he's cutting off every attempt from his mother to talk about her cancer. He's so strong and fragile at the same time. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 'Grandma':
(view spoiler)[Conor's grandmother is very straight forward, but maybe for a boy of his age, this approach is too much. He's in denial, I understand that, put to put it so bluntly like she does, that's not the way. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 'Understanding':
(view spoiler)[Harry is nothing more than a big bully and I feel sad for Conor. It's hard to endure the bullying and not being able to say something about it. Miss Kwan knows what's happening, but she doesn't interfere. Maybe she should. I can understand Conor's anger towards his environment. He wants to be treated normally, not as 'the boy who's mom has cancer', but everyone seems to avoid hem or has pity with him, which makes his anger grow and Lily is an easy target to be mad at. (hide spoiler)]

I read this yesterday and it had all the feels... I wish I'd had time to comment as I read... I agree with all your comments, @Saar. re: Understanding--(view spoiler)[these school scenes hit me especially hard. It's not easy to identify bullying as an adult, or find an effective way to deal with it... The teacher should definitely step in though. And they all need to stop treating Conor like that... Not only does it take away from normality, but each time they bring it up, they make it impossible for him to ignore without giving him an outlet to address it. I feel like maybe the teachers taking a brusque straightforward approach would be better... they keep dancing around the subject without stating it directly, which is the worst possible approach. Someone needs to point him at a boxing club or something... (hide spoiler)]

End of book thoughts--this gave me serious Neverending Story vibes (view spoiler)[with the bullying and parental difficulties. I love how much symbolism there is--and also the stories-within-a-story, where each of them wasn't as they appeared. And the way the book was written, it could've been fantasy or it could've been all in his mind... with a slight edge on the fantasy.

One of the most impactful scenes to me was when Conor finally gave in to his anger and smashed up his grandmother's treasures... and the grandmother comes in... and he finally sees her, the way he's been hoping she would see him... but it's too late. The scene just breaks her, after she's been so broken already by seeing her daughter waste away in front of her... I can remember that kind of anger, and the horrible dichotomy, of feeling the anger raging and knowing that giving in will be both worse and better... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 'Invisible':
(view spoiler)[What is worse: being the center of attention and concern, because your mother has cancer or being suddenly ignored? Both are equally ignored, I think. Conor has so much rage in him and it's understandable. He's dealing with a lot of emotions and he wants to talk, to be reassured that everything will be okay, and on the other side he wants to be left alone, be treated normal. And his father saying he needs to be very brave. Can't a kid just break down and let his emotions go? Personally, to be brave, I think is to hold up your emotions, get your back strong and up right, not falling apart. But he's just thirteen...And his rage found an outlet, sadly in his grandmother's sitting room. (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze wrote: "I read this yesterday and it had all the feels... I wish I'd had time to comment as I read... I agree with all your comments, @Saar. re: Understanding--[spoilers removed]

End of book thoughts--thi..."

About Harry:
(view spoiler)[So far he gives me the creeps. Like the part on page 18: 'He could probably even guess what Harry would say next in that calm, amused voice of his that seemed to mimic every adult you never wanted to meet.' I think that says a lot: maybe Harry has troubles at home or this is a reflection of the adult he might become. Indeed, certainly now, we don't see bullying as fast as we should, but nevertheless, teachers must step in. I agree on the straightforward approach: a conversation in class about Conor's mom to avoid all these situations. So it will be in the open. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 'Yew trees':
(view spoiler)[That's why Conor's mom kept saying, while gazing out the window: 'That's a yew tree, you know.' (hide spoiler)]

Chapter '100 years':
(view spoiler)[My heart broke in a million pieces when Conor's mum talked to her son. She understood him so well... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 'The rest of the fourth tale':
(view spoiler)[Those last sentences...I know exactly how Conor feels. Before I couldn't put it into words, until I've read those sentences. That was where his anger originally came from. (hide spoiler)]

Finished...
Well, I need to recover, again...As this time it hits close to home. Rereading again was more personal. Like I walked at times together with Conor. Building up the anger together, the invisibleness, the fear of losing someone you love...
(view spoiler)[I've found Conor's father detached from the story. Maybe that he was more with his head in his second family and just tried to connect with his son, but never could achieve it fully. Conor's grandmother held herself together, almost being cold in her feelings. Maybe her worrying about Conor's mother was all she could take, but then she reached out to Conor, saying that her daughter, his mother, was someone they had in common with. Maybe that was a careful reaching out from grandmother to grandson. (hide spoiler)]
I loved the illustrations. They added a lot to the story: the darkness, anger...

So much hits with this... (view spoiler)[I agree about Harry too... something wrong with that kid... almost curious to get a similar story from his perspective. What kind of trauma would it reveal on him? Or is it a character flaw, just ugliness all the way down?

I found it interesting how you thought about Conor's father @Saar--I pretty much wrote him off from the beginning, even though he did show up. Like you say, I think he was entirely with his new family, and had sloughed off the old like a snake skin... I was surprised he even bothered to come back.

Those conversations between Conor and his mom... raw, painful, but needful... like @Saar says, she's the only one who really gets him... though I think his friend, who he's been spurning, is willing to try more than other characters. But losing not only his mother, but the one person who loves him for who he is and isn't trying to make him into something else... that's the worst. I like how you characterized his grandmother as trying to take that step too... (hide spoiler)]

I'll need to try to find the illustrations.

I agree with y'alls opinions. This was a reread for me and I forgot a lot but i liked it even more now.

My edition had the illustration (they were so beautiful and were over most of the pages) and some comments on the movie and interviews with author/actors. So I want to watch the movie too

Ditto on wanting to watch the movie...

@Nirkatze:
About Harry:
(view spoiler)[It would indeed be interesting to read about his perspective. I mean, there's got to be something wrong at home to be picking on the weaker. He wouldn't do this without any reason, right? Or maybe he does have a lovely home and it's just his character? (hide spoiler)]

About the father:
(view spoiler)[Well, he said he would come back, but we didn't know he actually did. It felt more like a burden to him. (hide spoiler)]

The illustrations add an extra to the story: they are in black and white, but if you'll look closely, you'll see little details in it. I don't think I saw the movie, but I think I wouldn't watch it. The book was really good and I always think that movies make it worse.

Yeah, true insights... we'd want there to be reasons. Want people to be good or have a reason for their pain... but there isn't always, is there?

No, you're right about that.

Boo

Saar The Book owl wrote: "@Nirkatze:

The illustrations add an extra to the story: they are in black and white, but if you'll look closely, you'll see li..."

Ooh yes, I read this back in 2022 - but the illustrations are great. (view spoiler)[ I sobbed while reading this as an adult (and I rarely sob - though more often it's while reading books :D) (hide spoiler)]

I was just reading a random article today and it mentioned this--or rather, the movie adaptation--on a list of underrated movies that you probably haven't seen...

Mitali wrote: "Saar The Book owl wrote: "@Nirkatze:

The illustrations add an extra to the story: they are in black and white, but if you'll look closely, you'll see li..."

Ooh yes, I read this back in 2022 - bu..."

I sobbed too...again...

Nirkatze wrote: "I was just reading a random article today and it mentioned this--or rather, the movie adaptation--on a list of underrated movies that you probably haven't seen..."

Maybe I should see the movie then with a box of tissues :)