A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness has an unusual and moving genesis. Ness wrote the novel based on an idea left behind by novelist Siobhan Dowd before she died prematurely from cancer.

Both the story itself, and the beautifully illustrated book are exceptional.  The reader accompanies thirteen year old Conor as he tries to come to terms with his mother's terminal illness and imminent death.

I loved so many things about this illustrated novel, presumably for a young adult audience, but really I can't imagine there would be too many readers of any age that would not be swept up by this story.

Ness gets the thirteen year old voice just right.  I was totally engaged with Conor; his fear, isolation and anger, are all believably rendered.

The story is perfectly paced and edited.  In a minimum of words, the reader is immersed into Conor's unravelling home and school life.  The scenes with his absent father were heart-breaking as were his battles with bullies at school.  Ness has a light touch which is very effective. 

The monster is both real and metaphorical, a tree creature that Conor has conjured up unwillingly to try and make sense of the unfathomable loss of his mother and his world as he knows it.  Ness captures the loneliness of adolescence and the confusion and terror at the loss of a parent.  The book is alive with genuine feeling.

Illustrator, Jim Kay, enhances the emotional impact of the novel with  his dark and subtle drawings.  This book is a standout from beginning to end and a work of art in itself.  I highly recommended it.

Review: Holes by Louis Sacher

Holes is the quirky story of Stanley Yelnats, who is a teenager sentenced to dig holes in the Texan desert, at the truly hideous Camp Green Lake, where there is nothing green and certainly no lake, for 18 months for stealing the shoes of a famous baseball player.  Sadly, Stanley did not commit this crime, but the Yelnats have been cursed with bad luck for generations.  This is the story of how Stanley manages to, once and for all, remove that curse.

Nothing is what it seems in Holes, and instead of being a youth detention operation for young offenders, the hole digging is really the warden's quest to find treasure buried more than 100 years ago by an infamous female outlaw, Kissin' Kate Barlow.

The narrative is meticulously constructed with Stanley's struggles interspersed with flashbacks of both his ancestor's story, and the story of Kissin Kate.  The stories weave seamlessly together. 

There are so many themes in the novel, but I guess the idea of fitting in and identity, Stanley has always been teased at school by peers and teachers alike for being overweight, is a big one, and perseverance and friendship also feature.

There is plenty of enjoyable symbolism, and play on words, and I really think I might have to read this little novel again to make sure none of the cleverness escaped me.  I am not sure if this book was originally marketed as YA fiction, but I am sure both that audience, and all readers really, would find something to engage with here; it is completely original and satisfying.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Everyone, it seems has read this truly impressive book by Suzanne Collins.  My only regret is that I didn't read it sooner. 

Set somewhere in the future The Hunger Games is an annual event where 24 teenagers are selected through a lottery across the 12 districts of Panem (what is left of the United States in this future world) and pitched to fight against each other in a, to the death, winner take all, reality TV program.

Katniss and Peeta are the contenders from district twelve.  The narrative is told in the first person from Katniss's perspective.  She is sixteen and volunteers for the Hunger Games to save her younger sister Primrose from having to take part.  Katniss has been providing food for her family by hunting, since she was eleven. after her father was killed in a mining accident.

The Hunger Games can be enjoyed on many levels, and all of them are pitched perfectly.  This is a story that I imagine would appeal to  young and adult readers alike.  Everyone has reviewed this book, so I don't feel the need to carry on with a lengthy review here.  I am the one who has been slow to this party.  So let me just add to the chorus that I was amazed and captivated by The Hunger Games.  I couldn't put it down.  It is well written, dramatic and moving.  I can't recommend it highly enough.  And feel certain that I will be looking more closely at YA fiction in the future.  This is one of the most enjoyable reads of the year for me.

As a brief postscript, the first thing that came to mind when I was reading The Hunger Games was a short story by US writer Shirley Jackson called The Lottery.  For those of you who love The Hunger Games and are unfamiliar with this short story, originally published in The New Yorker in 1948, I encourage you to check it out.  I don't know if the short story was any sort of inspiration for Collins.  The Lottery by Jackson captures some of the same chilling themes very well.