Genre: Fantasy
Themes: Fear, Grief, Bullying, Coping, Mythology, Storytelling, Illness (Cancer), Death and Dying
Author Information: Patrick sums it up pretty well himself (taken from patrickness.com/faq)... "I'm Patrick Ness, born at the stroke of midnight on the new millennium, suckled by wolves (well, a wolf and an open-minded Weimaraner), and schooled by Jesuit mermaids. I'm from America, live in England, and am a blending of both (with a firm genetic trunk of Norwegian. It's why I'm tall and freckly. Skol!) I've had lots of jobs but won't bore you with the usual wacky list, though I did teach creative writing at Oxford University for three years. Which wasn't even remotely wacky. At all. Currently, I write books."
Siobhan Dowd: Siobhan Dowd was a British writer and activist. Her book, Bog Child, won the 2009 Carnegie Medal. Prior to her 2007 death from breast cancer, she set up a trust where all the proceeds from her books go to help disadvantaged youth with their reading skills.
Plot Summary: Conor is haunted every night by a horrific nightmare, a monstrous nightmare, one he can't bear to face in the light of day. Conor's waking moments are enough to shake anyone, since his mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, and the subsequent social fallout at school that causes him to be bloodied by bullies on a daily basis. But one night, a mythical ancient tree comes to life and demands that Conor face the truth of his life. A beautiful and sometimes terrifying story of fear, grief, and inevitably, acceptance.
Booktalk: Conor, Conor.... he hears his name called from the cemetery, in a voice, ancient, filled with history and horror. Conor ... but Conor has seen and heard much worse, and those are the nightmares he can't speak of, the ones that keep him awake with fear, fear of what's out there, and fear of what he will have to do to make it all stop.
If you loved this, you'll like:
Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book, Harper Collins, 2009.
Kelly, Joe. I Kill Giants. Image Comics, 2009.
Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. Wendy Lamb Books, 2009.
Other books by this author:
Patrick Ness:
The Knife of Never Letting Go. Candlewick, 2008.
The Ask and the Answer. Candlewick, 2009.
Monsters of Men. Candlewick, 2010.
The Crane Wife. Cannongate, 2013.
Siobhan Dowd:
A Swift Pure Cry. David Fickling Books, 2006.
The London Eye Mystery. David Fickling Books, 2007.
Bog Child. David Fickling Books, 2008.
Solace of the Road. David Fickling Bookks, 2009.
Themes: Fear, Grief, Bullying, Coping, Mythology, Storytelling, Illness (Cancer), Death and Dying
Author Information: Patrick sums it up pretty well himself (taken from patrickness.com/faq)... "I'm Patrick Ness, born at the stroke of midnight on the new millennium, suckled by wolves (well, a wolf and an open-minded Weimaraner), and schooled by Jesuit mermaids. I'm from America, live in England, and am a blending of both (with a firm genetic trunk of Norwegian. It's why I'm tall and freckly. Skol!) I've had lots of jobs but won't bore you with the usual wacky list, though I did teach creative writing at Oxford University for three years. Which wasn't even remotely wacky. At all. Currently, I write books."
Siobhan Dowd: Siobhan Dowd was a British writer and activist. Her book, Bog Child, won the 2009 Carnegie Medal. Prior to her 2007 death from breast cancer, she set up a trust where all the proceeds from her books go to help disadvantaged youth with their reading skills.
Plot Summary: Conor is haunted every night by a horrific nightmare, a monstrous nightmare, one he can't bear to face in the light of day. Conor's waking moments are enough to shake anyone, since his mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, and the subsequent social fallout at school that causes him to be bloodied by bullies on a daily basis. But one night, a mythical ancient tree comes to life and demands that Conor face the truth of his life. A beautiful and sometimes terrifying story of fear, grief, and inevitably, acceptance.
Booktalk: Conor, Conor.... he hears his name called from the cemetery, in a voice, ancient, filled with history and horror. Conor ... but Conor has seen and heard much worse, and those are the nightmares he can't speak of, the ones that keep him awake with fear, fear of what's out there, and fear of what he will have to do to make it all stop.
If you loved this, you'll like:
Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book, Harper Collins, 2009.
Kelly, Joe. I Kill Giants. Image Comics, 2009.
Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. Wendy Lamb Books, 2009.
Other books by this author:
Patrick Ness:
The Knife of Never Letting Go. Candlewick, 2008.
The Ask and the Answer. Candlewick, 2009.
Monsters of Men. Candlewick, 2010.
The Crane Wife. Cannongate, 2013.
Siobhan Dowd:
A Swift Pure Cry. David Fickling Books, 2006.
The London Eye Mystery. David Fickling Books, 2007.
Bog Child. David Fickling Books, 2008.
Solace of the Road. David Fickling Bookks, 2009.