7 Minutes Past Midnight
by John Michael Samuel
My grandmother died last summer. Was I sad? Of course I was. Who wouldn’t, if you were in my position? Was it that difficult for me to accept it that I would o-so-melodramatic that I nearly cried my heart out every night? I think not. Maybe a few years ago, I could say it that it was hard to accept it but now, I think not.
It’s probably because of this book that I’ve read over a year ago. I’ve read it three times now and I still managed to cry – and I don’t even cry while reading books, this would be the first time... second time... and the third time (I’m such a baby). There’s hardly any book that could do that to me ‘coz I’m one of those persons whom you would venture up to the ends of the earth just to see me cry (yeah, people who know me may give you a proof on that).
This book is a low fantasy allegorical novel written by Patrick Ness “from an original idea of Siobhan Dowd,” illustrated by Jim Kay, published by Walker last 2011. Ness and Kay won the Carnegie Medal and the Greenaway Medal, respectively, in 2012, the “year’s best” children’s literary awards by the British librarians.
The novel tells the story of 13-year-old Connor O’Malley whose mother has terminal cancer and undergoes chemotherapy. Then there’s this monster that comes up to Connor at 12:07 that says that it wants the truth.
I must say, the book did deserve those awards. It is a novel that, I can say, I would remember until I grow old that I would let my children read it too and that if I don’t have any book to read and I’m looking for something to read, I’d pick this up from my bookshelf—and eventually make myself look like a crybaby.
The book was written in a style that would be understandable by nine-year-olds but even if you’re an adult, you would appreciate it and you are probably heartless if you’re not touched by the story. What I like about it is that, though it may be very short—I read it for, at most, five hours, I guess—you could feel all kinds of emotions while reading the novel. Anger. Love. Hate. Happiness. Sadness (of course). And even nostalgia.
The other thing that I like about it is that it was able to teach me so much about life in a single and very simple type of work. Acceptance was there; how to accept the things that happen in your life that no matter how bad things could be, there’s still a light that shines at the end. How we humans are, somehow, never right nor wrong and that we are always in the middle. And how life is written through actions—our own actions—and not through words.
No such book has ever crushed my heart and tore it into pieces and made that kind of impact in me until this very day. And for that, out of five stars, I’d give it a six or seven if I can. It’s now on my list of favorite books. And if you’re interested on reading this, I suggest you don’t do it on public, especially if easily cry on sad stories. People might think you’re an idiot.
Oh, I forgot to tell. The book’s title is A Monster Calls.
