This was an interesting premise, and I do have to say I enjoyed the characters. Even though I usually cannot stand books with multiple POVs, this did not bother me. It was a little creepy, a little o teresting, but just way too long. It definitely could have been edited down from 700 pages for a much tighter story, I’m afraid I just got too bored.

I have been a fan of this author's for quite some time and this book didn't disappoint. I was turning pages as fast as I could, just trying to get to the end. But when i got there I was sad it was over.

This is a book that wants to be a horror story, but presents itself as a science fiction/Christian allegory. I kept waiting for the horror aspects to kick in but eventually accepted that the author was heading in a different direction. The title and summary were misleading and reader's beware, Christian themes abound in this book.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Received an arc from NetGalley for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity of reading this amazing book. As soon as I heard that Stephen Chbosky was writing another book I got insanely excited, without even knowing what the book was about. What I had in mind was something in the same genre as his last book, Perks of Being a Wallflower. This book is almost the complete opposite of that, and for that I am grateful.

This book was very intimidating to me. 700 freaking pages. For some people that's nothing. They can read four times that amount in a month! Well this book took me a majority of the month to read.. meaning I didn't read much else. I was not disappointed by this book in the slightest though, so I'm not upset that I haven't read any other books. Before jumping into this 700 pages seemed like an excessive amount, and some of the other reviews I have seen believe that this book could've been shorter. And I agree, but I don't at the same time. This book would've have been as intense or crazy had it been any shorter. The action-packed last half of the book would've felt incredibly rushed had this book been shorter.

Chbosky truly took me for a ride. It was like riding a roller coaster that starts out really slow, but the intensity continues to grow as you climb up the incline of the plot. But as you're climbing the incline, everything goes pitch black so you can't anticipate what the rest of the ride entails. Before you know it, everything is speeding up and there are so many unexpected twists and turns that continue until the very end of the ride. That is this book in a nutshell. The first half of the book builds the story, creates a foundation for you to feel connected to the characters. Not just Christopher or Kate either but also for the side characters that you barely know anything about, you learn just the perfect amount to remember them and their stories later down the line. All of the characters had their quirks but that is what made them interesting. The different backstories and unsaid trauma that they've gone through left me intrigued and wanting to know more about them.

Another part that made both the characters and the overall story more enjoyable was the attention to detail. I feel like this book would've been very lackluster had there not been such carefully placed descriptions throughout the entirety of the book. You know the details of the setting, characters, their thoughts, the vibe of the room and other people surrounding the scene. It makes it feel more true to life, at least in the first half. The descriptions in the second half of the book are meant to incite fear. It's supposed to be as crazy as it sounds. The fact that that first part seems so real due to the descriptiveness, it makes the second half more crazy like, "How is this happening?? There is no way this is really happening..."

I had many guesses throughout the book of what was going to happen and none of my guesses were correct. Usually I know I'm far off but this time I felt like my intuition about the nice man was close, but I couldn't have been more off. I loved how it kept me guessing. I was never bored with what was going on because something was always happening, even if it was subtle.

Another thing I liked was how the plot connected all of the characters. It wasn't like they were all separate. Some parts of the plot connected a set of characters and then one of those characters to another and another. That is another part that made me feel so invested in all of them is because their stories were all somehow related, at least that's how I saw it.

Usually this isn't a genre I would pick up, but based on how much I enjoyed this book, I would definitely pick up another horror based book. And I would very much recommend this to people who like horror or suspense filled books.

Wow wow wow. This is genuinely one of the creepiest books I’ve ever read. Chbosky’s newest work is masterful and i can’t wait for it to come out so everyone can read it and so I can add it to my collection. Miles away from Perks but still incredible in its own right. I’m blown away by this book.

This is definitely THE most difficult review I’ve had to find the wording for so far.
Not because this book was an extreme in a positive or negative way, it’s just that I HONESTLY don’t know how I feel about it at all.

I know that I absolutely loved the beginning. We meet little Christopher and his struggling mom Kate.
Things have been rough since Christopher’s father committed suicide.
Christopher struggles in school and has a hard time socializing, poor Kate just works her butt off to try and make their life the best she can for her boy.

When Christopher mysteriously goes missing in the woods for a week only to suddenly reappear a little bit “different”, this is where things start getting weird.

The first part of this book I literally couldn’t put down, especially once Christopher found his little group of friends.
The scenes of all of them together had a nostalgic style of writing to them, I was instantly reminded of some of the classic Stephen King novels.
His ragtag group of misfits were always a wonderful contrast to the horror aspect, and that’s something that was also very well balanced here. For a while.

But then, the creepy started to become less creepy and veer into more bizarre.
And the bizarre just eventually overtook the plot. Sometimes, that works for me, and sometimes you lose me, and that’s what kept happening here.
It was like, I love the bones of the story, but not the meat because sometimes it was TOO much.

My mind was being messed with so much I found myself torn between frustration because: WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON, I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT’S REAL ANYMORE?!,
And yet, needing to continue on just to figure out the ending.

I suppose if you’re an author, especially of this kind of novel, that IS your ultimate goal.
So, maybe this book has done exactly what it was meant to.

Aaaah! This is a review that’s more like a non-review because I honestly STILL don’t know what to say about it.

Here’s how I can summarize it:
It was like a never ending mind F*
And, depending on who you are, that’s either EXACTLY what you’re looking for, or, you’ll know it’s not for you.

I have to give it a 2.5 ⭐️

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for a review!

I will distribute this review among my other platforms soon.

Christopher has had too much trauma in his young life - his dad is dead and mom's latest boyfriend is an abusive creep which is how he and his mom ended up in this little out of the way town. Instead of life calming down, Christopher gets more agitated and becomes driven to sneak out at night building his treehouse and doing anything else the "nice man" tells him to do. Mom doesn't really know how to help Christopher and is becoming more and more alarmed at the whole conversations her son is having with a plastic bag (his imaginary friend). This is pure horror - good people dealing with stuff way over their heads and involving children. Classic battle of good and evil and a must for fans of Stephen King, Joe Hill, and other horror writers. If I could have read this 700 plus page novel with my fingers covering my eyes I would have. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

This book was an intense read. Reminds me of a John Saul novel. Horror at its finest. It was hard to put down and when I did I found the characters remained in my mind till I could come back to the story. Very haunting

Wow! I just finished reading "Imaginary Friend". This is one of the scariest books I have read in terms of nightmarish imagery. It involves a young boy named
Christopher who struggles in school. His Dad recently died and his mom is trying everything she can to make a better life for them. Christopher follows a voice out into the woods that sets a plan in motion that will affect everyone in the town. Hold on because you are in for a scary ride. The book has symbolism throughout and an ending that makes you go hmmmm. I enjoyed the book as fiction, not trying to line it up with Christian theology or my personal beliefs. It will be a great thriller to read and recommend for your Fall reading.

Pub date October 1, 2019.
A very ambitious foray into horror from the author of THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER. I was VERY into this in the first quarter of the book, I initially got Joe Hill vibes! The set up was suspenseful and exciting and the characters were rich and likeable. As the book moved forward, it completely unraveled for me. At 720 pages it's not an easy read, but there's a ton of potential here. I hope he writes more in this genre.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky was one of my most anticipated books of the year, as The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of my all time favorite books. Unfortunately, this book really missed the mark for me.

What I liked:
The characters were well developed in the beginning of the story, prior to the horror aspect beginning, so I cared about Christopher and his struggles in school. I rooted for his mother to get back on her feet.

What I Didn't Like:
This book was extremely long and drawn out, with 720 pages. The story started out interesting, but it became so drawn out and repetitive that I frequently found myself bored. I can't even count the number of times I read about kids peeing their pants, getting bloody noses, or the descriptions of the steps into the treehouse "like baby teeth". This book also had a strong ties to religion, which I was not aware of going in to the book, and was not a fan of.

I previously loved Stephen Chbosky's style of writing, but this book read nothing like The Perks of Being a Wallflower and was overly drawn out. As a fan of thrillers, I may have enjoyed this book if it were half the length.

When I first read the description for IMAGINARY FRIEND I became quite excited and developed high expectations. Initially I found the novel compelling, but the farther I read the more unsettling it became. Once I began the "final night" in the ongoing battle of Good vs. Evil, I thought that this section and time period endured too long; perhaps even the last quarter or so, if trimmed, would improve the quality of the novel. Also one particular secondary character's continuing plot thread ended with what I considered unrealistic and highly unlikely character evolution (three characters all unedergoing 180-degree reversals). However, the conclusion of that plot thread seems to dangle the potential of a sequel, starring that particular secondary character.


The two protagonists (five decades apart) are seven-year-olds. However, in no way is this a story for children. Sensitive readers: torture, gore, SERIOUS abuse issues (to adults and to children) are ongoing throughout, and some of the violence is extreme and stomach-churning.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I'm a fan of literary horror, and I loved Perks of Being a Wallflower, so why not try this book?? I really loved the beginning, but something about the way we got to the story was off for me. It was reminiscent of Stephen King, and not in a terribly good way. If you like horror, give it a try. Maybe you'll enjoy it more than I did!

Thank you Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me an E-ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I give this book a 2.5 out of 5 Stars.

First off, I appreciate the ending, I think it was a really great concept, and the way things unraveled, albeit very weird, it was very unique. As far as what I didn’t like, it was far too long, and far to slow paced for my liking. (In my opinion) I think this book could have been about 300 pages, and it would have been the perfect length. As my friend Savannah has said, “I can only read about peeing pants, and bloody noses so much” I’d have to say I agree. But everything else that I didn’t enjoy about this book, I cannot speak of, because it’s would ruin everything. I appreciate what the Author tried to accomplish with this book, and the message he is trying to convey. It’s just not for me.

I’ve read this will be a great book for fans of NOS4A2 Fans, and since I didn’t read that book, I cannot compare. I am so sad I didn’t love this book, as The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is one of my favorite books of all-time. But I do understand that this time Chbosky was targeting a different audience this time. I will say, Chbosky’s creative mind shows through in this book and his writing. This was an insanely WEIRD book, and it took someone very unique to put write it.

There is so much I have to say about this book and a lot of it is not good. I can tell you I tried with it, reading all the way through (with tons of stops in-between because believe me, it was needed), getting to know the characters more, trying to get to a conclusion that seemed to never come. And, here's the thing, I couldn't give up on this book, even when I read things that set me off, because here I was baffled and taken in by Christopher and that imaginary world.

That world is really what kept me going, the creepiness of it, the strength of the children in this book (another one of those issues I had, but I'll go more into it later), the knowledge that we're not alone, (literally someone standing next to you right now...goosebumps much??), and that tree house which opened the door to a world none of us want to venture into. You would think with all of that I would have loved it, left the faults behind, but then those faults became too much.

One of those issues I had with this book, and why I couldn't let it go, was the portrayal of several of the God-believing women in here. I'm not sure what the author's true religious views are, but I can say that (at least to me, with how the characters' are written) his views on women and religion must be extremely skewed. And, I say that because it wasn't just one character he made out to look like a sexual fiend, but multiple ones. Almost all of them, broken by the end of this novel.

Yes, even with that, and how I felt upon reading those pages, I continued to read, thinking this must be a mistake or a misinterpretation. It didn't seem to be. But, here I was again, pushing through that because I still needed to figure out what was going to happen with Christopher, the invisible man, David and his brother Ambrose, and every other character that kept getting added as the chapters continued.

I have to tell you my mind was a jumbled mess through most of this. Here's where the kids, and my issue with that comes in. All of these kids, Christopher, his friends, the others involved (aside from a few), were all around seven years of age. Yes, seven, not ten and above, but tiny little, innocent, second graders, running out on there own and getting themselves into supernatural worlds without parents asking questions (until it's too late... and even then it was mostly only one parent wondering).

They slept out out on their own, dealt with situations on their own, most of them scarred for life (almost all of them had a bad home environment). And, you would think, well some books are that way, to get the story along, a reason for it to get to where it needs to be, but this was just way too much. I would forget for awhile, that they were this young, because the book doesn't read that way for most of it, until you're reminded, a few chapters along, just how small they continue to be.

Putting some of that aside, my reasoning for giving it a two star (close to giving it a three), were those chapters that really enveloped the reader and wouldn't let go. The fascination that this imaginary world caused, how spooked I was with the old, nightmarish, lady that gets you while you sleep. Enough to keep wanting more of it. If only this book were more about that, several pages less than it should've been, with an ending that made more sense, it would have been different.

And, I could really keep going about this book, because it made me hate and love it all at once. But, the little bit of love I had for parts of this novel was never going to be enough with all the other craziness involved. Including, those repetitive words/phrases of baby teeth, painted nails, baseball glove, dying on Christmas Day (if you read it, you'll see what I mean), would make anyone just as frustrated as I was. In the end, the good I found in this, was not worth the headaches I got from it.

***I received this copy from Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.***

Christopher Reese and his mom Kate haven't had an easy life since Christopher's father's suicide.  They're in debt and now Kate has gathered up her son and a few belongings to escape an abusive relationship.
They stop in a small town called Mill Grove, Pennsylvania and Kate feels she's found a safe place for her and her son where they won't be found.

Chistopher's never been a great student due to a reading disability, he worries about his mom a lot, and he's bullied regularly.  
Christopher vanishes for six days before emerging from the woods, seemingly unharmed.  Suddenly life takes an unexpected turn for Christopher and his mom.  They win the lottery and are able to purchase their own home and climb out of debt.  Christopher begins doing well in school and even has a small group of friends.
But then there's the nice man who wants to protect him from the hissing lady in his nightmares and the voice telling him he has to build a treehouse in the woods by Christmas.

As the holiday looms large, everyone in Mill Grove seems to be losing their minds.  Voices are telling everyone to prepare for a war and Christopher knows it's up to him to win the war and save the town from the nightmare.

My main issues with this book:  Christopher is seven-years-old.  This is a horror novel, obviously I'm going to suspend my disbelief for entertainment purposes, but I have a six-year-old of my own and couldn't wrap my mind around this kid and his friends being only seven.  His thoughts and actions (even before he vanished) made me imagine him to be older so that when childish thoughts or activities were mentioned, it felt awkward and out of place.
Then there's the repetition.  There are several descriptive phrases used multiple times, from the appearance of the treehouse steps being called baby teeth to the cloud that hangs around town being an all-seeing eye.  I mean, I get it, it's symbolic, let's keep this story moving forward.
I didn't feel like this book came together until the last quarter, which makes it a bit underwhelming.

What I liked about this book:  Chbosky carefully crafts his story by following several characters whose fates are all linked.  It's the tried and true formula for master of horror Stephen King and it was successful here, switching perspectives to advance the story.  
I loved the relationship between Christopher and Kate; it was so genuine and I certainly identified with Kate as a mother!
The creep-factor on this book was a slow burn.  There wasn't much in the beginning but by the end I had serious goosebumps.

Overall, I liked this story.  It tackles the heavy subject of good vs. evil with Biblical symbolism and looks at the way people deal with personal sin.  It's obvious Chbosky took great care in every detail of the plot and the relationships between characters with definite inspiration from Stephen King.

It was a loooong set up to get to the heart of the book.  Page count doesn't intimidate me and never factors in to my decision to read a book but in my opinion there were several scenes/chapters that could've been removed or edited down to the benefit the story.

If you love stories about kids fighting evil with sinister creepy old school Stephen King horror vibes, Imaginary Friend is worth checking out.

Huge thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.  Imaginary Friend is scheduled for release on October 1, 2019.

Wayyyyyy too long. It started out so strong too. So so creepy in the best way but then it began to drag. It needed to be about 300-400 pages shorter.

I'll be first to admit that I never read horror, nor do I have the interest, but I wanted to give Stephen Chbosky a try just because he was an iconic author of my teenage years. But this..... wasn't it. Even from the objective perspective of someone not into horror, especially paranormal/fantastical horror, this was a longwinded mess.

This book started out strong to trick you to read on, but the ending was catastrophically terrible. The first 25% is basically what the synopsis describes, and then afterward, the story truly begins. Let me reiterate that this book is 700 pages long and the first quarter of the book is just exposition. From 25% to 75%, this book actually had a lot of good parts. It kept me guessing, it had twists and turns, it had a few creepy partys. But then the ending just became overwritten, incomprehensible plot divided between two worlds and between a cast of 10 characters. The writing was average at best throughout the book, but the end of the book just became totally ridiculous with all the characters screaming LIKE THIS!!!! at each other multiple times a page, aNd ThE viLLaiN oF thE boOk tAlkS liKe tHis. I skim read the last 10% just in search of answers, but this book provided none. I have no idea what the conflict of the book was and why any of the villains were wreaking havoc on the world. The main plot twist at the end just made the entire situation more confusing and everything got so muddled in the end that it's making me regret spending TWO WEEKS reading this massive book only for it to be so completely a let down because the plot doesn't actually get resolved in a way that makes sense. Chbosky just kept on dragging the conflict out even though he could have ended everything 500 pages earlier, with SO much unnecessary inner monologue that dragged out the pace even more.

Maybe if you like fantastical thrillers with religious/spiritual undertones you would enjoy this more, but in my opinion, just save your time and read Stephen King or something.

"I can't tell...
I can't tell... you what is happening, Mom.
It would...
It would... terrify you."

This book is insane. It went in a direction towards that end that I would describe as [ pretty overtly religious / Christian but even as someone who doesn't really care for that stuff I was still entranced by this novel. It is about 700 pages and I raced through it in 4 days. Really amazing stuff. And it was truly scary, which I can't say for many books. That being said, does any book need to be 700+ pages? No. Could have lost about 150 pages and still been great. Either way, it was a fantastic ride from an author I've been obsessed with since Perks of Being a Wallflower. Highly recommend for horror fans looking for a character-focused story.

Anyone who read Perks of Being A Wallflower and loved it as much as I did, be warned, this is full-tilt, no=apologies horror. If you're not prepared for that, you might have a tough journey ahead.
Chbosky takes the coming-of-age tale and injects it with some seriously dark proceedings and epic action whose pacing occasionally wears out its welcome due to the length and repetitive nature of what happens.
That said... anyone looking for a lengthy dive into some prime evil doings this Fall will most likely enjoy this well-written, sharply characterized, but an exhaustive yet exhausting, tale of a rather literal fight between good and evil waged within small-town dramas we know so well.