A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness was a 2011 Bram Stoker nominee for superior achievement in a Young Adult novel, a category that contained truly brilliant writing.  A Monster Calls was much different than the other books in the category, though, an experience as much as a powerful story, due to the dark and frightening world drawn in the margins and throughout the pages- the illustrations and text complemented each other perfectly,  packing an incredible and terrifying emotional punch. The chair of the committee, Rachel Levy(quoted in this article in Publishers Weekly), said it better than I can, when expressing why the book would win both an award for the text (the Carnegie) and one for its illustration (the Greenaway):

Jim Kay’s illustrations for A Monster Calls created the perfect synergy between the text and illustrations… Using only shades of black, white, and gray, he has beautifully, skillfully captured the atmosphere and emotion of the story and has produced a book that gives you a whole and satisfying experience.

 

That’s it exactly. This intense and emotional story was completely deserving of the double award it received. Congratulations to Patrick Ness and Jim Kay for their awards, and for bringing a new dimension to storytelling. Now go read the book.