Powerful and haunting

Wow.  I don't usually get drawn into stories that are sad, but A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness was absolutely riveting.  Conor is 13, and as long as his mom has been battling cancer, he's been having the same awful nightmare.  One night he's visited by an enormous monster formed by a nearby yew tree.  Over time, and as Conor's mom tries more and more treatments that don't work, the monster tells Conor three confusing stories and then demands that Conor tell him a fourth one - the truth, the story of his nightmare.  Conor's feelings of helplessness, grief, and anger are laid bare; the monster - frightening, caring, maddeningly logical - is one of the most creatively written characters I've come across in a long time.  Black and white artwork adds an extraordinary, eerie quality.  I couldn't put this book down....