I did not understand the big deal that was made out of the divorce of Connor's parents. 12:07 The story had a little of a 1960's feel to it. Connor responds like a preteen or a teenager. The stories the monster tells are interesting and thought provoking. I commend him for this and believe he does a fine job of accomplishing this. He does this through stories told by a monster and through Connors real life. He wanted them to know that things don't always turn out alright or happily ever after. He wanted teenagers to get a real understanding of death without the sugar coating they would normally get. In an interview in the end, Ness says he wrote this for himself and then he says he wrote it for teenagers. STORIES ARE IMPORTANT In four hours, we and Connor face divorce, cancer, bullies and loss. It was very interesting though as he voiced each of the characters I created a very vivid image in my head of how each character appeared and that was due to his great ability. Then again as far as I am concerned he could read the phone book and I would be happy. Jason Isaacs did an absolutely fabulous job with the narration in this book. Even though you know the ending is coming, the force of it isn’t lessened because of the good job the author did of building the emotional ties to the characters of Connor and his mom.

The relationship between Connor and the Monster didn’t seem forced or unrealistic and there was a natural flow to the story. That being stated it doesn’t mean this book isn’t good because it is actually a very well done story with a great buildup of tension and emotion. I know some folks find them very therapeutic or cathartic but that is not me so I had force myself through this one. I admit I don’t usually read/listen to these types of stories because of the emotional drain they cause. A “one-timer” is a good or great book that I will only read once because it is too emotionally draining or intense for me to handle. This book is definitely on my “one-timer” list.

A monster calls audio book