I sobbed my way through the entire second half of Patrick Ness' A Monster Calls so I'm not entirely sure what I missed in that time. A Monster Calls is fairytale realism with grim roots. It's written beautifully (as everything by Patrick Ness is) and the art by Jim Kay is absolutely gorgeous. I feel that the circumstances outshone the characters, but I did enjoy that they were symbols rather than fleshed out people. Really lovely, definitely recommend.