by
Patrick Ness
Inspired by an idea from
Siobhan Dowd
Illustrated by
Jim Kay
CANDLEWICK PRESS DISCUSSION GUIDE
ABOUT THE BOOK
The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.
But it isn’t the monster that thirteen-year-old Conor
has been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from
his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since
his mother started her treatments, the one with the
darkness and the wind and the screaming. This monster is
something different. Something ancient, something wild.
And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.
It wants the truth.
Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final story idea of
Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer
prevented her from writing it herself. Darkly mischievous
and painfully funny, A Monster Calls is an extraordinarily
moving novel about coming to terms with loss, from two
of our finest writers for young adults.
HC: 978-0-7636-5559-4 • PB: 978-0-7636-6065-9
Movie tie-in PB: 978-0-7636-9215-5
Also available as an e-book and in audio
1. “You’re a good boy,” Conor’s mother tells him. “I
wish you didn’t have to be quite so good” (page 17).
What does she mean by that? Why does Conor
have to be so good?
2. How does the monster describe itself to Conor?
Where does the monster come from? What does
it want? Do you think that the monster is real, or
is it a product of Conor’s imagination? What does
Conor think?
3. Lily was once Conor’s closest friend, but now he
can’t forgive her. Why? Is he right to feel betrayed?
How do most people behave around Conor once
they learn about his mother’s illness? What would
you have done in Lily’s situation?
4. “Stories are wild creatures,” the monster says.
“When you let them loose, who knows what havoc
they might wreak?” (page 51). What does the
monster mean by this? In what ways does the rest of
the novel prove the monster’s point?
5. Discuss the role that humor plays in this novel.
Where are the best comic moments? Describe the
monster’s sense of humor. Would you enjoy the
monster’s company?
6. “Sometimes people need to lie to themselves most
of all,” the monster tells Conor (page 62). Is Conor
lying to himself about his mother’s illness? Is his
mother lying to herself? What does each of them
need to believe? Why?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
A Monster Calls • Discussion Guide • www.candlewick.com
08/17
Illustration copyright © 2011 by Jim Kay
A MONSTER CALLS
THE 2017 GLOBAL READ ALOUD
YOUNG ADULT CHOICE
7. Look closely at the illustrations. How do they
capture the tone of the novel? How do they
express the range of Conor’s emotions?
8. Who is the hero of the monster’s first tale? Who
is the villain? How does the story keep surprising
Conor? What does Conor hope to learn from the
story? What does he actually learn?
9. Discuss Conor’s relationship with his father.
What have they shared over the years? Why does
Conor want to live with his father now? Why
does his father say no?
10. In the monster’s second tale, whose home is
destroyed? Why? What does the story inspire
Conor to do? Why does he enjoy doing it? How
does Conor’s grandmother respond to his actions?
Why?
11. Conor’s monster appears to him in the form of
a giant yew tree. What is the medicinal value of
the tree? How effective is it as a treatment for his
mother’s illness? Why does she want to believe it
will help?
12. Harry, the school bully, looks straight into
Conor’s eyes and says, “I no longer see you” (page
145). Why is this such a cruel thing to say? How
does Conor make himself impossible to miss?
13. Describe Conor’s recurring nightmare. How does
it usually end? What changes when the monster
demands the truth? What is more painful to
Conor than the death of his mother? Why does
he need to be honest?
14. At the very end of the novel, what does Conor say
to his mother? Why must he say it? Why must
she hear it?
15. The authors’ note explains that Patrick Ness
wrote this novel based on an idea from Siobhan
Dowd. Why was Patrick Ness initially reluctant
to take on the project? What persuaded him to
change his mind? Even though it’s impossible
to know for sure, do you believe Siobhan Dowd
would have liked the finished book? Why or why
not?
About PATRICK NESS
Patrick Ness is the author of the acclaimed Chaos
Walking trilogy for young adults: The Knife of Never
Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer, and Monsters of Men.
Born in Virginia, he lived in Hawaii, Washington, and
California before settling in England. He never met
Siobhan Dowd, but he came to know her through her
superb novels.
About SIOBHAN DOWD
Siobhan Dowd completed four novels before her untimely
Child, for which she was posthumously awarded the 2009
Carnegie Medal.
Also by PATRICK NESS
PB: 978-0-7636-7618-6
Also available as an e-book and in audio
The Ask and the Answer
PB: 978-0-7636-7617-9
Also available as an e-book and in audio
Monsters of Men
PB: 978-0-7636-7619-3
Also available as an e-book and in audio
More Than This
PB: 978-0-7636-7620-9
Also available as an e-book and in audio
08/17
A Monster Calls • Discussion Guide • www.candlewick.com • page 2
Illustrations copyright © 2011 by Jim Kay
CANDLEWICK PRESS DISCUSSION GUIDE
