Nova Ren Suma

This was... Wild. I (for some dumb reason) predicted this was going to be an unassuming young adult contemporary and I was dead wrong. It's this claustrophobic, chilling, almost horror-based ghost story full of rich fictional history and gay subtext. Basically it's everything I didn't know I needed in my life.

3.5 stars because What did I just read???

Ruby and Chloe are closer than most sisters. Their mom is never around and both dad's split. Ruby has taken care of younger sister Chloe for as long as she can remember. But Ruby is more than just Chloe's caretaker and provider. In the town they live in, Ruby is the star. She's the one everyone wants to be or be with. And she always gets her way with very little persuasion.

Then something happens and Chloe decides to go live with her dad. 2 years show more later, Ruby brings her back promising things would be normal again. When Chloe comes back, things are normal... too normal. The accident that sent Chloe running, seemingly never happened. People in the town are still under Ruby's spell, but in almost a trance-like way.

Chloe struggles to find out the truth about her sister and the town, but the more she finds out, the more things like real and impossible start to become blurry.

My Thoughts:
One thing is for real: Nova Ren Suma is talented. After reading [b:The Walls Around Us|18044277|The Walls Around Us|Nova Ren Suma|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407168914s/18044277.jpg|25322052] and then this book, I'm definitely a believer in her writing. I didn't like this as well as The Walls Around Us (that one completely blew me away), but I'm still going to read everything this woman writes because the creativity is off the charts.

The most interesting part for me was the characters. It featured ones like I had never met before, but they weren't characters I even liked or wanted to root for. They were people I didn't really understand and don't know if I ever could. Still, I was interested in figuring out these people in this insanely odd town.

This story is about codependency at it's heart... a really sick codependency. Chloe is dependent on Ruby for an identity and approval. Ruby is willing to risk everything to get Chloe back so she can control her. Basically what happens is- there's an accident, Chloe leaves town for a period of time, Ruby comes and gets her back, and everything in town is weirder than usual when she arrives. Ruby's acting weird, people who are supposed to be dead, aren't. And while Ruby always had some sort of magnetic pull about her, it seems that pull has been kicked up times 100 because everyone is falling all over themselves to obey her every wish.

So I was left wondering how any of this could be possible?? Is this fantasy? magical realism? paranormal? Is one of the characters hallucinating? I still don't even know if it's none or all. The lines are all blurred and the ending didn't help.

From page 1 I didn't like Ruby. Actually, I hated the bitch. Despite that, I still wanted to know what the F was going on. I wanted Chloe to find out who she was without Ruby. I wanted Ruby to wake up and realize that the world wasn't hers and she didn't & shouldn't own people's free will. I learned really fast that this book didn't care what I wanted.

By the end several things became clear and unclear: I at least came to understand the way Ruby cared about her sister... but still not in a liking it way. I realized that I gave Chloe way too much credit and put all my hopes for the book onto a character that was never going to be strong enough for that. And then there were some things (like Owen, Chloe's love interest) which seemed to allude to some crack in the careful Ruby wall, but nothing came of it and I was wondering so hard why I had thought that in the first place. Much like The Walls Around Us, I think there will always be things about this story that I don't "get". And I'm cool with that.

OVERALL: The writing is haunting and unique and impressive. The characters and the story were both equally frustrating. It's this mix of paranormal and magical realism, but it's cloaked as a contemporary. So, is it fun because it's doing something different, or frustrating because it's all over the place? I think both. And definitely worth reading.

My Blog:
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Nova Ren Suma may well be one of the best writers I've ever encountered. She's definitely on my list of favorites. And Imaginary Girls may be one of the most interesting stories I've ever read. It's so quietly powerful. You think you're reading something slow-moving and laidback until you realize you've been holding your breath and maniacally flipping through pages.

Every word Nova Ren Suma writes serves a purpose. It reads like a literary novel, with these strange paranormal elements thrown show more in. It's so hard to classify because I'm reluctant to call it just one thing. It's many things all at once. It's haunting and compelling and beautiful but never overdone. You can feel the force of the writer's voice, the way she strings everything together, even as Chloe's voice is pulling us along, telling us her tale. I've honestly not read much like it in the YA realm.

Highly recommended. It's like a perfectly executed magic trick--it will intrigue you and surprise you and, ultimately, leave you wondering how the author managed to pull it off. One of my favorite reads of the year. Also, while I loved the first cover--the one with the girl in the water--there is something eerie and provocative about the new paperback cover. I'm surprised at myself, but I really like it. show less

I'm not sure what I expected when I began reading Imaginary Girls, but the book ended up being so unique and completely different from anything I've ever read before.

Though the relationship between Chloe and Ruby is complex, intense and, at times, a bit disturbing, their love for one another is also very apparent. Having practically raised her, Ruby has a special pull over Chloe and yet it becomes very clear that Ruby is equally dependent on her younger sister, willing to do the unthinkable show more -- the impossible -- for her. We see the strange power Ruby has over their town, but it's her relationship with Chloe that moves the story forward, revealing just how far she's ready to go and the sacrifices she's willing to make to protect her. As Ruby's secrets and hidden layers are brought to the surface, Chloe does show moments of uncertainty, but her loyalty to her sister always wins out.

There isn't a lot of action in the story, but there's definitely a lot of tension. With every character we see, there's a growing undercurrent of unease, as well as a threat of something darker. There are moments where scenes seem to be straight out of a horror film, leaving me to want to turn on every light in my home.

The book did have its slow moments, but the beautiful writing kept me hooked. I made so many highlights of quotes and passages, each time struck by the magic Nova Ren Suma wove into this story. What I loved most, though, was the mystery that remained after the last page was turned. A clear explanation of certain events that occurred is never given, and while some readers may be left feeling frustrated by this, I was left to feel more than a little unsettled and haunted -- in the best possible way. show less