David Almond is a well-known YA author who has written some acclaimed books such as
His novel that he penned last year, The True Take of the Monster Billy Dean, might be one of the most bizarre books that I’ve ever read. It is written phonetically from the point of view of young Billy Dean who lives out his existence in his bedroom, locked away from the outside world, in a small cabin with his young mother. Billy’s father makes erratic and increasingly disturbing visits to the cabin to visit Billy and his mother during which he berates Billy for his illiteracy and preaches about the dangers of the world.
Throughout the novel we come to learn that they reside in a village that had been destroyed by bombs during World War II. When Billy’s father suddenly stops coming back to the cabin, his mother finally exposes him to the world – and Billy is astonished by what he sees. The other residents of the town soon realize that there is something special about Billy. Local medium Missus Malone has her own plans for Billy, and as rumors spread of “The Aynjel Childe” and his power to cure the sick and speak to the dead, the boy becomes another kind of prisoner entirely.
This tale, although disturbing at times, is incredibly fluid and intriguing. The phonetic telling can be hard to get past at first, but it really lends itself to the tale and how Billy views his world and how he experiences it.
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