Imaginary Friend

I'm thinking Chbosky got paid by the word for this turd.

Okay, that's not fair. The first half isn't horrible. In fact, at times, it's actually really damn good. Like, creepy horror King damn good.

But, a funny thing happened on the way to the looooooooong overdue end to this book. Chbosky took a fairly simple, effective plot, then decided to not...end...it. Like, third Lord of the Rings movie not end it. Instead, he tried to turn a simple story into his version of King's [b:The Stand|149267|The Stand|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1213131305l/149267._SX50_.jpg|1742269]...without the end of the natural world first.

Okay, so, here's my take. The first third, fantastic. He had great show more characters, he had some nice echoes starting up that could pay off down the line. He had a creepy start. Well done.

The middle third was where it started going off the rails. I am absolutely not a fan of imaginary places and dream sequences. I find them stupid and often used by lazy writers. You want me to close a book and never give it a second glance? Write me a dream sequence. You want to piss me off, give me a magical imaginary place. And yeah, Joe Hill, I'm looking right at your fucking [b:Horns|6587879|Horns|Joe Hill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1402958805l/6587879._SY75_.jpg|6781405], with its imaginary treehouse. Fuck your imaginary treehouse.

Oh wait, what other book has imaginary treehouses? This book.

And then, the final third not only slid off the rails, but it fell into a bottomless chasm and just kept going down. Bad guys became good guys. Good guys became bad guys. Then some switched back. God and Satan entered the picture (no...really). Imaginary places became the norm. You can do anything in an imaginary place. If you can think it, you can do it.

Fuck your imaginary places.

If I'm honest (and why wouldn't I be?), I mentally checked out long before the end and literally only half-listened. People were dying, but weren't dead. People sacrificed themselves for the greater god. I heard "Death is coming. Death is here. You will die on Christmas day. (or something like that, I honestly purged it from my brain as soon as I was done)" about eleventy million times. I got really sick of the terms "the hissing lady" and "the nice man".

So, yeah, whatever. Chobsky finally got around to writing "the end" somewhere in there, but I was so long past giving a shit, I was likely three shades lighter. My field of fucks was barren. No fucks were given this day.

Honestly, I don't know if Chobsky found god halfway through the writing of this, or he just thought turning a decent, tight little horror novel into a sprawling treatise on what god is was a great idea. Don't know. Don't care.

Ultimately, this was simply a huge, disappointing waste of time. My suggestion? Cut the book in half and end it cleanly before the stupid shit shows up. show less

2.5 stars rounded up
This book has made me so ANGRY! The first 75% was FANTASTIC!!! Truly great, it has everything you want: creepy woods, missing kid returned, kids band together to make a treehouse (creepy, trust me), imaginary friend (duh!), oblivious adults wrapped up in their own drama, action, fighting...literally ALL. OF. THE. THINGS! And then...and then....I won't spoil it, but just know once part 7 comes...it's all downhill from there. The audio was done really well and I'm glad I did it that way because had I read the physical book, it would have taken me a very long time at 700+ pages and I would be a million times angrier. Read it or don't, that's up to you, but be prepared to be really disappointed in that ending.

Having only one other book by Stephen Chbosky to base my expectations on, I wasn't really sure what I was in for, but this book ended up being quite a good read. Chbosky is an excellent storyteller, who draws us in with realistic characters and a compelling narrative, but this time around he has woven a story which is filled with far more horror than happy endings. Don't get me wrong, the characters who deserve a happy ending (and a few who don't) get one, but they literally have to go to Hell and back to get it. Horror and thriller-based stories like these are not normally what I enjoy reaidng, but I really had to know how everything turned out in the end so I had to keep reading until the final pages. While most of the story is show more starkly realistic, from its small town setting to its conflicted cast of characters, the supernatural elements were also wonderfully done. Chbosky blends the real and imaginary world in such a way that we can suspend out disbelief and let the boundaries of reality stretch to accommodate the stranger aspects of the story. He cites Stephen King as a major influence for the story, which I can definitely see, but I can also see major references to Guillermo Del Toro's fantasy-tinged horror spectacles and the mythological imagery and symbolismwas decidedly reminiscent of the more frightening of our cultural folk and fairytales. Like all fairytale heroes our protagonist Christopher steps off the path and into the woods, not knowing that his actions will have a major influence on the real world. The plot twists throughout are more than enough to keep readers engaged for the 700-odd pages of he story, and the final scenes are nothing less than epic. I could see this book being adapted very successfully for film, but I also hope that its success will keep Chbosky putting pen to paper and writing more novels for us. Maybe something a little less scary next time though? show less

Thank you, NetGalley, for causing me to lost massive amounts of sleep over the last few days. Right now it's the middle of the night and I just finished Imaginary Friend. And whoa, what a ride. Im still trying to gather my thoughts, so bear with me.

First, this book is LONG. Longer than any books I've read in quite some time. I've seen other reviews say that it was too long, but in all honesty I feel like it was warranted. Chbosky really went in depth with these characters. But the thing is that this book isn't "oh god when is it going to end" long. This book is "I need to know what happens so I'll stay up all night" long.

The story bounces around between characters and story lines a lot. There were a few of the storylines that I didn't show more care much for, but Chbosky has woven such an intricate web between all of these characters that you can't help but pay attention to them.

The formatting of the book is a little... Wonky. But honestly i liked it. It makes things quirky, and I like quirky.

There are some major twists that really threw me for a loop. Don't really have much to say about that, except I caught a few flies in my mouth when my jaw dropped.

Yes, there are definitely Christian themes. Maybe some of them are a little "in your face" but the action in the story should be enough to keep you going, if that's not your thing. Maybe. Might want to read some reviews by atheists on that part.

I think what really got me on this book is how I kept thinking I was getting to the climax, but really the story kept building up. You're going to get drawn in to this. Hire a babysitter, order takeout, and brew some strong coffee because you're not going to want to put this one done. Seriously, I made my husband watch the kids just so I could devour this book.

This book is five stars. It's action, it's coming-of-age, it's gory, it's thrilling, it's spooky, and it's thought provoking. Don't miss this one. show less

I was so excited to get a copy of this book through NetGalley. I loved Chbosky’s Perks of Being a Wallflower, and the premise of this new book sounded very Stephen King, which translates to very my-kind-of-book. I had just been approved when my 15-year-old daughter also picked it as her BOTM add-on for October, so clearly this was meant to be.

Single mom Kate Reese is running from an abusive man and a heartbreaking past with her seven-year-old son, Christopher. They are both drawn to a tiny, out of the way town in Pennsylvania, and Kate is determine to start fresh and provide her son with a good life. Both are haunted by the suicide of Christopher’s father, who was also the only good man Kate every knew. Just as they are settling in, show more Christopher vanishes for 6 days after being mysteriously led into the woods outside of town by unknown forces. When he comes out, he can’t remember his time there, but he has a voice in his head that only he can hear and a strange mission to complete to save his mom and the town.

First things first: this is a BIG book (720 pages), and I have seen some reviews that say it’s too long or slow. That was most definitely not my experience reading Imaginary Friend. I though the pacing was perfect, and the tension builds throughout in a slow, perfect burn. There is honestly nothing I would rather have been cut from the story, as everything seems very deliberate and purposeful. I was so drawn in to this story that I also downloaded the audiobook so that I didn’t have to stop reading when I couldn’t sit down, and I finished the story in less than 3 days.

The writing is really, really good. The characters are so well-developed and complete. At the beginning of the book, Christopher is clearly written like a young child who is possibly dyslexic, struggling with school, confused about the loss of his father, and worried about his mom; after his return from the woods, he is most definitely changed, which is evident from not only his ‘spontaneous genius’ but from his more mature character voice. Chbosky effortlessly slips between many different character narratives as the town slides into terrifying chaos.

For me, the mark of a truly great read is the books ability to take me through a range of feelings. I cared about Kate, Christopher, and his friends. I felt for many of the townspeople, and I giggled, smiled, cried, and was truly frightened. The comparisons to King are likely because of the horror elements, but I was very pleased with how this book delivered the total experience I treasure as a reader. Just like Stephen King does for me so often. show less

A slow burn with lots of twists and turns. I found it deeply satisfying, but YMMV. Don’t go into this expecting it to be anything like Perks; it’s not. Neither should you go into this thinking it’ll be a fast-paced scare-fest; this is a book that wants you to relish in it. Imaginary Friend is cinematic in scope, from its depictions of family life across the small town of Mill Grove to the bloody brutal horror of the final act. A classic story of the human capacity for love triumphing over literal evil, it’s spun in a wholly original way with nods to other horror greats and small towns everywhere. While I sometimes felt myself wanting a quicker pace, I ultimately appreciated the spiderweb approach to the storytelling and the show more satisfying way it all tied in to itself at the end of the book. Chbosky reminds us that to err is human and to forgive is divine, but we are all divine, and we all have the power of love and forgiveness inside of us. show less

: This book has been hyped as “vintage Stephen King” and I am definitely a Stephen King fan. Single mother, Kate Reese and her seven year old son, Christopher are running away from another abusive relationship. They drive until they find themselves in the tight-knit community of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. It’s far off the beaten track with one road in and one road out.

At first, it feels like the perfect place to settle down…then Christopher disappears for six days. When at last, he steps out of the woods, he’s not hurt but he hears a voice in his head which is telling him that he must build a treehouse in the woods by Christmas or else.

I have to say that the first 500 pages weren’t bad, but after that, it became a real slog show more and I am a fan of huge books! A reviewer on LT summed it up perfectly for me when he said, “Repetitive: So much hissing, urine-stained pants, and street-blocking deer. Not to mention all those ‘mailbox people’ standing around holding string with their sewn-up mouths.” I grew to hate those mailbox people! Then, I started to count the stories that I’ve read before that I could find in this book including the last line which had me shout, “for Pete’s sake, not Rosemary’s Baby, too!” show less