Just So Stories

Walker Books

September 2024

ISBN13:9781529517958

Australia RRP:$16.99

New Zealand RRP:$18.99

I absolutely love Patrick Ness’ writing. The Chaos Walking trilogy is my all-time favourite YA read. And A Monster Calls is one of the most beautiful, powerful and poignant explorations of pain and grief ever, and breaks me every time I read it. In fact, all of his books have moved me and, all have been aimed at older readers – in some cases our senior students. To read this foray into MG was an absolute delight.

It is on one level, completely mad. Set in a school of animals with Principal Wombat, a very suitable choice for that position – stolid, immovable and a cast-iron butt – in charge, the narrative is an anthropomorphic laugh-a-minute that, at times, completely encapsulates the perceived attributes of some animals, and, at others, somehow enhances or otherwise these to a point of hilarity.

Three monitor lizards have known each other their entire lives, and are made Hall Monitors by the Principal (no no, of course that’s not stereotyping 😉 – just ask the Principal). Zeke is a big lizard but pretty quiet really. He and Daniel, smaller and much more exuberant, have been friends since they were all in the same incubator. Alicia is also their friend, thought not as close (and not because they are all lizards, Principal Wombat) although she and her mum are good friends to Zeke and his mum.

The Hall Monitor job for Zeke only lasts one day. Just long enough for him to be bullied (again) by the hefty Pelicarnassus, a big pelican who thinks he’s superior to everyone and everything, but especially Zeke. And Zeke retaliates with one good punch. This all erupts into a full-scale vendetta on the part of the pelican, who begins to plan an assault not just on Zeke, but the entire school.

The three lizard friends, meanwhile, chum up with Miel, a blind and very loud eagle, who offers up epithets and snippets of wisdom, scattering these like confetti. As you can imagine (or not) Pelicarnassus is determined to get back at Zeke – after all, his mother is a known super-villain.

It really is all very funny. But underneath all this are some serious threads that readers will absorb and upon which they will reflect. Not just the bullying but the fact that Zeke’s mother is beset by a ‘black dog’ since his father died 5 years previously. That black dog keeps her from Zeke, who more often than not is fending for himself in every imaginable way. This is where Alicia and her mum come in.

It’s about the motives, or reasons for their actions, of bullies. Why do they target other kids? Are adults sometimes bullies as well? Is it always picking on someone weaker? What does it say about their own self-esteem? What about stereotypes?

There are lots of questions to spring from this one – not least of all, how would it feel to have an entire country located on your knee. It would make an exceptional serial read for classes from around Year 4 to Year 7, and would engender much fruitful discussion. And I have to say, I am in love with the ‘colour-in’ cover on my ARC – what a fun idea! I think this could start a new trend.

Personally, I’m going to hope this won’t be the last excursion into MG from Patrick – this one gets a Zeke-sized 5 🦎🦎🦎🦎🦎 rating from me.