Many years ago I loved The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Originally, I was intrigued by Imaginary Friends' synopsis and was excited to try a genre I do not read as often. Unfortunately, I decided to DNF this book. The writing itself was not too bad and the beginning was intriguing enough but the more I read the more disinterested and confused I got. It felt a bit repetitive and I personally was not a fan of the religious elements. I did not want to waste my time continuing with this when I had so many other books that interested me more. While it was not my cup of tea, I did recommend it to a friend of mine who loves thriller/horror books.

I am definitely not the target audience for this one, as scary stories freak me out. However, I love Chbosky’s writing, so I wanted to give this a try. While I liked the first half a lot, the second half started to lose me. And some of it was a little too creepy for me. Overall, I’m glad I read outside my comfort zone and gave this a try, though!

ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The first half of Imaginary Friend was fantastic then it went down hill from there. After that I couldn't bring myself to continue reading the rest of the book.
3 stars.

This enthralling tome offers so much to the reader. Horror elements & suspenseful plot lines fill the pages. Truly epic with religious undertones & characters you can’t help but root for.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review. Catching up on missed reviews & can't remember enough other to say that I liked it when I read it. :)

Not what I was expecting at all!!!!!!!

I couldn’t tell when this story was supposed to have taken place. It felt like it was set in the 1980s but there were cellphones. An overall weird story.

Though it is a weird story, it is compelling enough for you to keep reading until the very last word.

Always remember who you’re dealing with and if something seems too good to be true - it usually is.

I'm currently clearing out all of the books that were published in 2019-20 from my title feedback view!

Honestly, I couldn't finish. It was too dense and convoluted and long. The characters weren't fleshed out well. I might pick it back up later, but it wasn't working for me at this time.

Seven-year-old Christopher is on the run with his mom. Her boyfriend Jerry was mean one too many times. They reach a new town and she finds a job cleaning at a nursing home. Christopher struggles with school until he reappears after missing in the woods for six days. He can’t remember anything about that time. Everything seems to get better for Christopher and his mom, Kate. Then Christopher sneaks out with his friends to build a treehouse in the forbidden woods. He gets sick and doesn’t sleep because of the nightmares he keeps having. His mother sees him falling apart and before she can fix anything their lives and whole world turn upside down. This story has an eerie, spooky feel. It’s part supernatural and part mystery with a Stephen King, albeit mellow, feel. Unique and strange, 4 stars!

Though I’m very late to reviewing this one, I really enjoyed it! It kept me interested, and I would recommend it to anyone who dabbles in this genre.

I had this book on my TBR list for so long and decided to finial take a chance when I came across a audiobook. It seemed less intimidating tackling this book that way. It was one of my anticipated reads then I saw the amount of pages that are in this and was iffy about it. The synopsis dosent give much up and I was curious what this book would contain and whew was this a trippy ride. There was so much to get through in this book when things seemed to chill clearly there was more to come. Nothing was as it seemed and I can defiantly say I really loved this. I kinda wish I waited till October to read this but I'm definitely glad I did. Maybe I'll see about a reread then because this book has so much to offer I'm sure there's a detail or two I missed and will enjoy this book just as much. I love a good trippy read like this and defiantly recommend. Don't let the amount of pages intimidate you if you like a spooky read its defiantly worth it. Highly recommend.

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky. All opinions are my own.


I struggled with this book but I think a massive reading slump was more to blame than the actual book itself. This is super creepy, especially as a mother. Great for a spooky Fall night!

Kate Reese runs away with her small son Christopher, determined to take him out of a dangerous environment. Where she takes him, though, ends up being dangerous not only to Christopher, but to the whole town...and maybe the world, too. In his safe new town, Christopher disappears. For six days. And when he comes back, he's brought an imaginary friend, whose voice reaches Christopher and his friends, and introduces strange compulsions that will change all their lives. There is some truly beautifully horrible imagery in this book. It takes a sharp turn for the religious, which makes it much harder to stick the landing with secular readers; Chbosky manages it, but the ending is not as developed as the lead-up. Still quite a read.

Imaginary Friend is such a huge change from Stephen Chbosky’s first book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It’s a pleasant surprise when authors switch it up, especially so long after their debut.

Imaginary Friend started off strong, but I found that the book was way too long to hold my interest. A good chunk of the story was irrelevant and didn't really add anything to the main plot.

This is a great example for me of a book that really has all sorts of problems and yet I mostly enjoyed the experience. I honestly wouldn't even recommend this one to most readers - at it's 700 page footprint, there really is nothing you'd be missing by not reading this book, and the chance is too big you'd hate it halfway through anyway.

The thing I loved the most about this book is the relationship between Christopher, the main character, and his mom Kate. And maybe because I am a boy mom, I am predisposed to love this relationship more than the unessential elements and lost plot threads bothered me. I also loved the characters presented by Ambrose and the sheriff, and the imagery in several places is really quite well-written, if sometimes it didn't actually serve a purpose. The thing that really bugged me about this book is how it almost becomes a different type of horror novel after the major plot twist is revealed.

Wow. Okay so this had some great horrific moments for sure. I did enjoy it, however, I could have enjoyed it more if it wasn’t so incredibly lengthy and religious and repetitive. Chbosky definitely can write great horror scenes and it gave me major old school Stephen King vibes.

Side note: The audiobook is very eerie as well!!

There were so many good parts in this book and so much happening. I definitely want to read more from Chbosky if he comes out with more horror.

As a huge fan of THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, I was so excited to see that Chbosky had finally written a second book. IMAGINARY FRIEND was not exactly what I expected, though it didn’t really disappoint either.

The story arc was definitely interesting. I love Chbosky’s ability to develop characters in such a way that you feel like you know them. Chbosky has this ability to make readers believe that the villains are saviors, and the helpers are the monsters.

Trigger warnings: this book contains rape, incest, elder abuse, child abuse, murder and a hefty amount of religion. All that said, it’s done in a super interesting way and is not graphic enough to deter the squeamish from reading.

I don’t read many horror books, almost none at all. They terrify me, they make me check that doors and windows are locked at night, but when they are also gripping and you can’t stop reading them, they are worth the chills and the door checking and Imaginary Friend is definitely worth it.

“Don’t leave the street. They can’t get you if you don’t leave the street.”

Christopher Reese and his mother Kate move to Mill Grove, Pennsylvania, to start a new life. Kate’s struggling to make ends meet while Christopher is struggling at school. One afternoon, he wanders into the Mission Street Woods and he is only found six days later with no memory of the missing time. After Christopher’s return, their luck turns, but Christopher also starts to behave strangely and he is not the only one in town.

First of all, yes, the book is long, more than 700 pages, but every page, every scene, every subplot, every perspective counts. I was glued to the pages, immersed in the engaging and dark story, the real and imaginary worlds, the excellent characters, the hissing woman, the mailbox people, the nice man, and the surprising and genius last sentence.

The characters are brilliant. I really liked the characters of Christopher and Kate as humans. Their struggle, their suffering, the poverty, the abuse… I really felt for them. I loved how strong their relationship is, how they love each other and would do anything to protect each other. Other favorites are the sheriff (who I kept picturing as Jim Hopper from Stranger Things), who has demons from his past to face, and Ambrose, still grieving over the death of his younger brother fifty-years earlier.

The author created quite an original and incredible story with the build-up of the suspense, the haunting aspects, and the vivid descriptions that may give nightmares. There are themes of religion (which has a strong presence in the story), of good versus evil, of mental illness and sexual abuse which don’t make for an easy read, but Imaginary Friend is a terrific and memorable story and I won’t easily forget it.