A Monster Calls

by

Patrick Ness

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on A Monster Calls makes teaching easy.

Lily Andrews Character Analysis

Conor’s best friend and classmate. Conor’s mother and Lily’s mother have been friends for a long time, and Conor and Lily grew up together. But at the beginning of the book, Conor is angry with Lily: when she found out about Conor’s mother’s diagnosis, she told a few friends, who quickly spread the news to the entire school and caused people to avoid him. This sequence of events makes Conor frustrated with her, to the point where he gets her into trouble while she was trying to save Conor from being bullied by Harry. This, in turn, makes Lily angry with Conor, which causes Conor to feel even more isolated. But when Lily sees Conor beat up Harry, she starts to realize how hurt Conor is from being made to feel invisible. She reaches out to him with a note in class, telling him that she “sees” him and that she misses being his friend. This is incredibly touching to Conor, and proves Ness’s argument regarding Conor’s isolation: that even though other students are avoiding Conor in an effort to be sensitive to him, it is really everyone’s responsibility to know when someone is hurting and to reach out and support that person, as Lily does.

Lily Andrews Quotes in A Monster Calls

The A Monster Calls quotes below are all either spoken by Lily Andrews or refer to Lily Andrews. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Death, Denial, and Acceptance Theme Icon
).
Understanding Quotes

Those friends told a few more, who told a few more, and before the day was half through, it was like a circle had opened around him, a dead area with Conor at the center, surrounded by land mines that everyone was afraid to walk through.

Related Characters: Conor O’Malley, Conor’s Mother, Lily Andrews
Page Number: 68
Explanation and Analysis:
The Third Tale Quotes

Harry leaned forward, his eyes flashing. “I see nothing,” he said. Without turning around, Conor asked the monster a question. “What did you do to help the invisible man?”

And he felt the monster’s voice again, like it was in his own head.

I made them see, it said.

Conor clenched his fists even tighter.

Then the monster leapt forward to make Harry see.

Related Characters: Conor O’Malley (speaker), The Monster (speaker), Harry (speaker), Conor’s Mother, Lily Andrews
Page Number: 152
Explanation and Analysis:
Punishment Quotes

There are worse things than being invisible, the monster had said, and it was right.

Conor was no longer invisible. They all saw him now. But he was further away than ever.

Related Characters: The Monster (speaker), Conor O’Malley, Lily Andrews, Harry
Page Number: 158
Explanation and Analysis:
A Note Quotes

I’m sorry for telling everyone about your mum, read the first line.

I miss being your friend, read the second.

Are you okay? read the third.

I see you, read the fourth, with the I underlined about a hundred times.

Related Characters: Lily Andrews (speaker), Conor O’Malley, Conor’s Mother, Harry
Page Number: 162
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire A Monster Calls LitChart as a printable PDF.
A Monster Calls PDF

Lily Andrews Quotes in A Monster Calls

The A Monster Calls quotes below are all either spoken by Lily Andrews or refer to Lily Andrews. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Death, Denial, and Acceptance Theme Icon
).
Understanding Quotes

Those friends told a few more, who told a few more, and before the day was half through, it was like a circle had opened around him, a dead area with Conor at the center, surrounded by land mines that everyone was afraid to walk through.

Related Characters: Conor O’Malley, Conor’s Mother, Lily Andrews
Page Number: 68
Explanation and Analysis:
The Third Tale Quotes

Harry leaned forward, his eyes flashing. “I see nothing,” he said. Without turning around, Conor asked the monster a question. “What did you do to help the invisible man?”

And he felt the monster’s voice again, like it was in his own head.

I made them see, it said.

Conor clenched his fists even tighter.

Then the monster leapt forward to make Harry see.

Related Characters: Conor O’Malley (speaker), The Monster (speaker), Harry (speaker), Conor’s Mother, Lily Andrews
Page Number: 152
Explanation and Analysis:
Punishment Quotes

There are worse things than being invisible, the monster had said, and it was right.

Conor was no longer invisible. They all saw him now. But he was further away than ever.

Related Characters: The Monster (speaker), Conor O’Malley, Lily Andrews, Harry
Page Number: 158
Explanation and Analysis:
A Note Quotes

I’m sorry for telling everyone about your mum, read the first line.

I miss being your friend, read the second.

Are you okay? read the third.

I see you, read the fourth, with the I underlined about a hundred times.

Related Characters: Lily Andrews (speaker), Conor O’Malley, Conor’s Mother, Harry
Page Number: 162
Explanation and Analysis: