The monster showed up after midnight.
As they do.
But it isn't the monster Conor's 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, thought.
Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.
It wants the truth.
This book was absolutely amazing. I found myself truly enjoying every single page, every single illustration. This novel was exactly what I needed for a car-ride, despite leaving me all sniffly and sad at the end.
In this novel, Conor deals with a new nightmare that comes and tells him 3 stories with the only request that Conor tells him the truth in the end. As the Yew Tree nightmare reveals his stories, Conor finds that there really isn't any justice to the them. He asks if the Yew Tree is there to help him or not, and Conor continually doubts the Yew Tree and his role in helping Conor's mother get better.
Suffering from cancer, far worse than her last lapse, Conor's mother is regressing quite fast and Conor lives with the hope that his true nightmare will not come to pass. As the novel unfolds, readers are left empathizing with Conor and his predicament; a father that has moved to America and has a new family, a grandmother that has no idea how to take care of children. The thought of losing his mother makes Conor aware of how bleak his life truly is and what would happen if she really did die this time.
I would recommend this book to anyone that needs a plain good read, wants to read a story about "fairness", cancer, dealing with death or divorce, and anyone that just wants to empathize with a poor young man that has tried to be everything he can that his mother cannot be in her present state. It's for those of us who need just a plain good cry here and there too. Maybe my pregnant brain is talking here, but really, sometimes a good cry is necessary!
Also, Jim Kay, you beautiful illustrator, you. You made me interested in picking up this book and perfectly drew everything. Thank you.
