Taxus baccata

Things are not always what they appear to be. In A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, this could not be more true. Conor O’Malley lived with his mother in a small house with a giant yew tree in his yard. His mother was ill, his father was in America, and he felt a deep, empty hole in his chest. Every night Conor awakes with fright from the nightmare. Though one night, after awaking, the yew tree near his home breaks away from his roots to visit him. The yew tree claims that Conor had called him. The tree said he would tell Conor three stories then Conor would tell him a story of his own. The first story was about a devious woman that would fall from royalty. This was the time Conor realized not everything had a black and white ending. In the waking world, in his own home, Conor sees his mother always tired and constantly throwing up after her cancer treatments. Yet, his mother still insisted she would get better. After, Conor must go to school to face his tormentors, Harry and his two followers, Anton and Sully. These experiences helped Conor learn that things aren’t always what they appear to be. The yew tree revealed the first tale during his second visit. A queen had been accused, by her step-grandson, that she murdered his beloved with a dagger. This happened after the queen had intended to marry the young prince to stay in power and keep the royal bloodline pure. The young king intended to run away with his lover to a nearby kingdom to hide until he took…

Death is an inevitable concept that will never die out. How one chooses to cope with it shows what they are like as a person. The fictional work, A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, tells the tale of a young boy named Conor. He is visited by a monster who is the yew tree in his own background. Throughout the story, readers find out that Conor’s mother has a terminal illness, assumed to be cancer, and Conor imposes the blame on himself. However, it is revealed that the monster had come to try to…

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness is the captivating story about 13-year-old Conor O’Malley, who’s mother has cancer. This story is about how Conor refuses to face the truth and what extent people, places, things and even nature go to so that he is prepared for the reality of what is to come. Both the Yew tree and the Abyss monster are used as representations of reality. While one helps him face his fears, the other helps him realise his fears. The Abyss monster is used as a metaphor for death,…