Patrick Ness

One night, George Duncan is woken by a noise in his garden. A great white crane has tumbled to earth, shot through its wing by an arrow. George helps the bird, and from the moment he watches it fly off, his life is transformed when, the next day, a kind but enigmatic woman walks into George's shop. But no love ever comes without risk…

The monster showed up just after midnight. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. This monster is something different. Something ancient, something wild.