A Monster Calls
#284.34 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2011 Reading commitment Low Patrick Ness Last reviewed 2026-09-04
Overview
A Monster Calls is a standalone YA novel in which a thirteen-year-old boy, Conor, is visited nightly at 12:07 by a monster in the shape of an ancient yew tree while his mother undergoes cancer treatment. Patrick Ness completed the novel from a premise left by Siobhan Dowd, who died of cancer before she could write it herself.
Mythic fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
- A Monster Calls (2011) core · 4.34 (296,610 ratings)
Quick answers
- How many books are in A Monster Calls? A Monster Calls's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is A Monster Calls finished? Complete (2011).
- How much reading does A Monster Calls take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is A Monster Calls ranked? #28 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 296,610 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #28?
Ranked #28 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.34 across 1 core book.
- Backed by 297k reader ratings.
- 0.01 behind #27, Riyria.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 1 book · Complete · 297k ratings · Ranks #28 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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- Raybearer Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.28
- A Snake Falls to Earth Mythic fantasy / Portal fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.94
- Krabat Mythic fantasy / Dark fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.91
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.34 across 296,610 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit A Monster Calls (Patrick Ness) accepted 2026-09-04
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: A Monster Calls Tier 3
Last reviewed: 2026-09-04
Rule: Core Canon = the single novel A Monster Calls (2011); no series or Expanded material exists.