Lily is loyal to Conor and stands up for him, but is confused and hurt by his behaviour. She still reaches out to him though and tries to support Conor by letting him know that she sees him and misses him. Conor is angry and refuses to believe his mother is dying. He protects himself by withdrawing from others. But the monster's

Lily and Conor have known each other since they were babies. Conor is angry with Lily at the start of the book because she told a few people about his mother’s illness. Conor thinks it’s her fault that everyone in school avoids him. Conor lives with his mother who is ill. One night, the yew tree near his house turns into a monster. It visits Conor and says that it will tell him three stories. In exchange, Conor must tell the story of his worst fear.Grandma is fiercely protective of her daughter. She wants to take care of Conor too but they are both stubborn and find it hard to communicate.

The line between fiction and reality is blurred in this book. Sometimes it's not clear what's real and what is imagined. Accepting what we can't change is not easy, but over time the monster teaches Conor how to let go. The monster's magical tales reveal truths to Conor and show the power of facing our fears. Conor stays with his grandmother when his mother has to go into hospital and the monster helps him to understand that she isn't a bad person. The monster appears several times, always at 12:07. It tells Conor three stories, each with a moral message. In return, Conor has to Have you ever had a nightmare that seemed so real it was hard to know where it ended and reality began? A Monster Calls byDespite this, she is always positive and puts on a brave face when she talks to Conor. Sometimes this makes Conor feel very angry because he feels like he is being lied to. The monster tells Conor the first story. This story teaches Conor that most people aren’t just ‘good’ or ‘bad’ but somewhere in between. At school, Conor is being bullied by Harry and falls out with Lily, his best friend. Conor’s grandmother arrives to help look after him.