The yew tree-man of A Monster Callsis right. And when I have finished my three stories you will tell me a fourth.' The tales from when I walked before.' This leaves Conor even less scared than before, but the monster assures him that, ' Stories are the wildest things of all. I will come to you again on further nights.

Assuring him that, by the end of their time together he will be scared, the monster says, ' Here is what will happen Conor O'Malley. At 12:07 am the yew tree from the churchyard behind Conor's house roars to life in the form of a giant tree-man and punches his way into Conor's room, bellowing ' I have come to get you, Conor O'Malley.' Conor is nonplussed.

Harry, the school bully, is diabolically, mercilessly brutalizing Conor who seems to take it willingly, refusing to tell on him even in the safest of situations. Lily, once Conor's close, longtime friend, has made his life miserable by telling the whole school his mother is dying of cancer and he can't bear to be around her anymore. Conor's grandmother, a brusque, brisk woman who is not big on words, swoops into the take over the care of his mother, something Conor had been doing just fine on his own, thank you. His father remarried years ago and has a new family in America. She won't admit this to him, though, always insisting that the latest treatment she is undergoing will work best. Conor O'Malley is a thirteen year old boy living alone with his mother who is dying of cancer. And the truth of this story is a very hard one to accept and to ignore. A Monster Calls is a story of what happens when you push the truth away.

Siobhan dowd a monster calls