Did you like Joe Hill’s NOS4A2? If you did, you’re going to dig this terrifying, heartbreaking story about a 7-year old who goes missing in the local woods for six days and returns home with a new friend who may or may not happen to be a figment of his imagination. To say anything else would spoil the fun, but at 700 pages (maybe 100 pages too long) this epic book (think THE SIXTH SENSE meets FRIDAY THE 13th, but with all the character-building and heart we’ve come to expect from Chbosky) far-exceeded expectations and is the perfect creepy fall read. Thanks to my friends at @grandcentralpub for the gifted copy, this one is for sure up there as one of my favorites of the year.

DNFing at 11% which may seem like I didn’t give it a chance but in a 700+ page book, 11% is quite a bit. I was nervous about this book to begin with for all of the obvious reasons, but once I started it, I loved the beginning. It was creepy, had me on the edge of my seat, and then BAM. Nothing. I was bored out of my mind. I found myself picking it up and then after a couple pages, putting it back down. 12 days later, I’m just calling it quits. I have far too many books that I can’t wait to pick up to waste my time on something that can’t hold my attention.

The ending is going to be really polarizing; I think people will either really love it or it won't work for them at all. I'm in the latter camp, but I respect what the author was going for. (I can't even discuss why it didn't work for me because it would be a massive spoiler. Sooooo suffice to say that I think the reader's response will really depend on who they are.)

It's also a bit of a slow burn. It takes a while for it to become scary (seriously about 200 pages or so) and even then, I think the reader's imagination and own fears will be what really propels this from "creepy" into "horror." (It really freaked me out, so be aware of that going in.)

I loved most of this book so much and I hope that I don't have to wait another 20 years to read a new Stephen Chbosky novel.

I am not entirely sure how to start this review or how great this review will end up being, because I have no idea what I even read. I say that in the best way possible though, because Imaginary Friend was INSANE, but so good! It was crazy and it kept me on the edge of my seat on every 700+ page! It was weird and it was creepy. I had dreams about this book multiple times throughout reading it. I had no idea what was happening or what the outcome would be and it drove me crazy, haha. I was trying to figure out what was going to happen next and I just couldn’t. I was constantly surprised and hit with so many feels. I shed a lot of tears while reading this story as well as every other feeling you can imagine. The love between Christopher and his mom was everything. I don’t want to say a whole lot, because I don’t want to spoil even the smallest thing. I would highly recommend picking up Imaginary Friend. I know I will be thinking about this book for a really long time.

"Imaginary Friend" by Stephen Chbosky was the perfectly creepy and spooky, great for the Halloween season! .

3.5 stars!!

I’ll start out by saying, that that I loooved the first half of this bohemoth of a book. I absolutely adored Stephen Chbosky’s novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, so you can imagine my excitement over his newest release. He has the most beautifully written, well developed characters and his writing really is amazing!

I just floundered a bit while reading, and felt myself slowly start to back out of the original feels I had for this book. It’s definitely atmospheric and chilling, and I loved the idea of Good vs Evil throughout, but I also had so many questions. I don’t want to risk revealing anything, so the less I say here is probably better.

I’d love to chat though if you’ve read this one! I also had the chance to listen to this on audio, and it was incredible.

*Thank you to the publisher, netgalley, and Libro.fm for the gifted copy for review. All opinions are my own

IMAGINARY FRIEND
Stephen Chbosky
Grand Central Publishing
ISBN 978-1-5387-3133-8
Hardcover
Thriller/Horror

No one will ever accuse author Stephen Chbosky of attempting to flood the market. Chbosky’s first novel, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, was published some twenty years ago and is a classic in every sense of the world. While Chbosky has not been idle since then --- he is an accomplished screenwriter --- he hasn’t been ripping out novels every year, or even every decade, since then, either. When word first circulated that he had a new novel titled IMAGINARY FRIEND ready for publication there was a great deal of anticipation. Now that IMAGINARY FRIEND has made its appearance, we learn that it has little in common with its predecessor. PERKS was a relatively short novel, while IMAGINARY FRIEND exceeds seven hundred pages without a bit of waste. PERKS was literary fiction, while IMAGINARY FRIEND straddles the genre lines of thriller, horror, and fantasy. While PERKS made the reader happy and sad, IMAGINARY FRIEND keeps readers on the edge of their seats while scaring the heck out of them. The books do have a couple of things in common, however, in addition to their author. One is that both in their very different ways are coming-of-age-novels. The other is that IMAGINARY FRIEND, like PERKS, is a superlative work which is not quite like anything you have read before.

IMAGINARY FRIEND starts out sedately but with a low thrum of tension. Following a haunting vignette occurring a half-century in the past we meet Christopher Reese, who is all of seven and one-half years old, and Kate, his mother. The two of them are newly arrived in a small town in Pennsylvania which is all but off the map. That arrival is by design, the result of Kate doing a stage left exit in the middle of the night out of an abusive relationship. She finds a job in due course while Christopher adapts to being the new kid in school, slowly and not without some growing pains. That he is saddled with some difficult learning disabilities does not make his life any easier, but his encounters with the school bullies are balanced by his friendships with three other boys. Christopher’s life takes a markedly positive turn when he develops a friendship with someone he refers to as “the nice man.” Christopher goes from remedial classes to advanced reading and math, and suddenly life becomes much better for his mom as well. Life is suddenly very, very good for Kate and Christopher Reese, who have established a peaceful life in a quiet town. What this is, however, is Chbosky setting up the chess pieces before lighting the board on fire. The nice man needs Christopher’s help with something, that something being a someone known as “the hissing lady.” Only Christopher and the nice man can see her --- at least at first --- but what is a contest between the nice man and the hissing lady turns into an all-out war that will involve the town and points elsewhere. When I say “war,” I mean war. Think of IMAGINARY FRIEND as a roller coaster ride, with the first half or so being relatively sedate until the track crests the top and starts downward, which is when the breaks give out and the riders realize that a good twenty feet of the rail are missing. Then things get difficult.

Maybe I’ve said too much. Don’t be surprised, however, if your copy of IMAGINARY FRIEND bursts into flame of its own accord at some point. It’s a parable, a retelling of the world’s oldest story, and a blasphemy, perhaps, to some. It corkscrews its way to an ending that you won’t expect but which is all the better for it. Save lots of time for IMAGINARY FRIEND. You’ll need it and want it.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
(c) Copyright 2019, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2019, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

This might just be one of the creepiest books I've ever read. This book reminds me so much of Tommyknockers and Needful Things. It centers on a few characters heavily, while also focusing on the town itself and its dynamics. As the story progresses, there is more and more tension and unease, which is my favorite kind of story! The book was definitely long (and maybe the ending scenes could have been trimmed a little) but overall this book was wonderfully creepy and engaging.

A very literary take on the horror genre. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, it had been a long time since I read Perks but his prose is still lively. I felt like the children should have been slightly older to make for a more compelling story, there were some limits do to age. The book was also very long. I felt like it could have been wrapped up in 2/3 of the time.

So, wow, lots to unpack with this one. I’ve never read Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower which was the book that really put him on the map, but I’m familiar enough with it to know Imaginary Friend is quite a departure. Like everyone else, I dove into this one with no clue as to what to expect, though the synopsis gave some hints.

It’s a horror story, obviously. Mostly following central characters Kate Reese and her son Christopher, Imaginary Friend begins with the two of them settling in the small town of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. Kate has been on the run for a long time; after the death of her husband, she fell into a relationship with a man who turned out to be abusive and has been trying to get away from him since. It is her hope that Mill Grove would be the start of a new life for both her and seven-year-old Christopher.

But then came a nightmare for any parent. Christopher goes missing, and for one terrifying week, Kate is beside herself with fear and worry. Against all odds though, the boy is eventually found alive and well, describing a harrowing escape that was only made possible by a nice man he met in the woods. While this mysterious man was never found, the only thing that mattered to Kate was that her son was back safe and sound. And miraculously, he seemed even better than before. Christopher begins excelling in school, making a lot of new friends. Kate also wins the lottery, allowing her to move them into a new house and pay off her debts. Life was as good as it could be.

However, unbeknownst to Kate, Christopher has been going through a lot of changes. There are the headaches, which he seems to get all the time now. And then there are the thoughts that just come to him, allowing him to know things he shouldn’t know, or to do things that shouldn’t be possible. He also starts seeing an “imaginary friend” in the woods where he was found after his disappearance, telling him to do things. And one of his friend’s first instructions to Christopher? Build an elaborate treehouse, right there in the middle of the woods, and it is of utmost importance that it is completed before Christmas, or else bad things will come to everyone Christopher knows and loves.

Based on many of the themes found in Imaginary Friend—like that of the power of boyhood friendships or the presence of skewed religious allusions, creeping plague, small town paranoia and hysteria, and a cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil—it seems rather clear to me that Chbosky was influenced heavily by the work of Stephen King. But I had to wonder, did he really have to emulate the man’s tendency for wordiness as well? Sitting at over 700 pages, a novel of such length is certain to cause me to give it the old side-eye, leaving me skeptical that the story actually has to be this long. And sure enough, by 25% I knew was one I’d have to tag team with the audiobook, as it was proving much too long-winded for me to cope with and I didn’t want to spend weeks forcing myself to pick it up. By 50%, I was starting to feel the brunt of the fatigue, even when tackling it in both print and audio formats. And at 75% I was asking myself holy fucking crap why isn’t this damn thing over yet?

Let’s be clear, this wasn’t a wholly bad novel, but man, if I had been the editor, I would’ve taken a chainsaw to this bad boy and hacked away all the repetition and extraneous, unnecessary detail to get it down to a more reasonable and readable length. Still, if you’re possessed of a strong mental resolve and iron determination, you should be able to disregard the blatant overwriting and enjoy some of the book’s more memorable moments and highlights. Yes, parts of it are actually pretty good, and those who picked up this book for the mystery and paranormal creep factor will also get a good dose of both. Yet for the most part, its cumbersome length and the rambling nature of the story severely impacted my enjoyment. It seemed the more the author added to the plot, the more complicated and chaotic it became, without delivering any real answers.

I hate being so negative, because Chbosky plainly put a lot of his heart and effort into writing Imaginary Friend, and there are enough strong points for me not to pan it completely. But on the whole, this simply came across as an overblown, very self-indulgent novel that could have been edited down—by a lot. In fact, that’s my biggest regret after reading this—that without the tedious, confusing and dragging parts, this book could have been great and needn’t have been such a chore to read. I say check out the novel if you’re a horror buff or if you’re curious to see what it’s all about, but just be prepared for the patience and time investment it demands.

Eesh. This was not what I expected.

With The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the simplified writing fits perfectly with the character and the plot. With Imaginary Friend it didn’t feel that way. This was written like a first novel and not a very good one. I DNF’ed at 22%.

The perspectives were all off, just jumping between characters with no explanation. One second we’re learning about Christopher’s day and the next we’re inside his mom’s head then we’re looking through the eyes of the sheriff. It was odd and chaotic most of the time.

It felt like it was written twenty years ago. I mean, the mom completely ignores that her son is dyslexic and keeps telling him to try harder to fix himself. The boy has a learning disability and she’s just like “keep trying one day you’ll magically get it.” This is a seriously harmful viewpoint and I’m just glad this is marketed for adults because I don’t want a dyslexic child to be reading this or listening to it as an audiobook and feel like he/she will only succeed if his/her dyslexia magically goes away.

The story itself was super boring. It starts out really intriguing with a missing child and a worried parent. The suspense has physically force. I even showed some sections to my husband because I was so entertained and then… I got page after page of how to build a friggin’ treehouse including where the supplies would come from, who would draw the blueprint, how they would sneak away, where exactly it would be built. It just went on and on and that was before they even started actually building it. Also, these kids are supposed to be seven years old. They are not hauling two by fours up and down a tree, hammering them in, and creating an entire structure for days at a time with just Oreo’s for fuel. I’m sorry I call BS.

**Spoiler alert**

Apparently the “nice man” is the devil, the hissing scary lady is Eve, and sweet little Mary Katherine is the Virgin Mary (who is totally pregnant again without doing the deed). Wait… what? I’m sorry I didn’t sign up for a Christian allegory about how the devil is whispering mean things into our ears and soon we’ll all go crazy and it’ll be all the devil’s fault. What happened to Free Will? Oh and apparently God only welcomes Eve back into his loving, but apparently very grudging, arms at the end of the book. So she’s been in worldly purgatory since basically the beginning of time for one mistake. Great parenting. I don’t know if this is a reflection of Chbosky’s views on Christianity or… idk.

**End of spoiler alert**

All of these things might have been acceptable if the book was short or even reasonably normal in length. Instead it was 700 pages of poorly written non explanations. Many people have compared it to Stephen King’s writing and I agree, but I also hate King’s writing.

As always, it is your choice to read or not, but my vote is not to waste your time with Imaginary Friend. It needs a lot more TLC before any eyes should view it.

I really must commend all the readers and reviewers that read and loved this book. I am at 81% right now and have the most incredible headache from reading this tome! I don't know what is pushing me more -the fact that I can't 'not' finish an ARC? That everyone else loved it and I am really disliking it? That I have more questions than the book has answered?

My problems are many:

Firstly, I am a Baby Boomer and that means my favorite horror writers will always be Stephen King, Robert McCammon and those of that ilk. I am not averse to reading new horror authors if they can be unique. When a modern author tries to do what they (the original kings of the horror genre) did and can't do it well and I can see it in the first 100 pages or so, it does not bode well.

Secondly, I have issues with some of the, well for lack of a better term, the time period. It is supposed to be (I am assuming) modern times. But some of the things the author talks such as Special Education, Floods or High Waters for pants, or amazement at a school having a computer lab rings of the entire book being written back in the '70s, not just the first few chapters which do take place in the '50s.

Thirdly, many many characters and more than I could keep straight as well as the different...er...dimensions, moods, evil people and what-not. I also had a lot of problems relating these characters to 7-year-olds.

Lastly, The usage of capitalization in the middle of words is unique and is what finally brought this migraine on. It, in my opinion, is extremely difficult to read in this manner, but I can see why the author wants us to read these parts with difficulty. A bad move -he could have used italics but I'm not the author.

IF I finally finish the entire book and I change my mind about any of this I'll let you know.

*ARC supplied by the publisher.

This book.... THIS BOOK. I never read Perks of Being a Wallflower but what I do know is that this author went to a completely different genre with this young adult horror fiction read. Is it worth every 700+ page? You bet your ass it is.

To begin with, the main character's name is Christopher Reese - this made it somewhat sentimental to me because my family became very close with the Reese family when we lived in Italy. Their youngest was their son, Christopher who became a brother to me over the years and somehow that made this is a bit sentimental to me. Both have a strong relationship with their mothers and both are the best and sweetest boys. Listen, if you can find something in your real life that anchors you to the fictional life in the book you're reading, it absolutely makes a difference.

There were also a couple of incidents that truly reminded me of my childhood. Being pulled under a bed (or that feeling that something or someone was under there) was always a nightmare for me as a child (and once I woke up halfway under the bed, so yeah...) and that creepy ice cream truck jingle... UFF. Both are mentioned and just grabbed that inner child within me all the more. Even to this day, when the many ice cream trucks roam my neighbor at the weirdest night time hours, it still makes my blood turn cold.

I feel really sorry for all the Perks of Being a Wallflower fans who are going to run out and grab this book. They are nothing alike! But that doesn't make this a bad book, just a very very different book. And, from my reading, it was almost two completely different books in itself. I was so pulled in by the quirky characters, the budding friendships, the terrific mother-son relationship. Gosh, the first 60% or so was an amazing book! I loved how Mr. Chbosky would inject a bit of humor to balance out the scariness. I was telling my husband about parts. I was basking in the great writing and character building that didn't feel dragged out. And then, BAM! I hit what was the climax of the book and still had 40% of the book to go. And go. And go. And go. And it went and it got weird. Very religious and biblical and rapture end of the world feeling. It was an incredible let down after such a magnificent start.

“A nightmare is nothing but a dream gone sick.”

Where do I even begin when it comes to the release of this (20 year) long awaited tome? I guess the easiest thing to do is address the obvious. For those of you who have been anticipating a new Perks to fall in love with, I have some bad news.

There is no Charlie to be had here. Instead, there is a Christopher. A little boy who recently moved to small-town Pennsylvania with his mother when she escaped from an abusive relationship. A little boy who disappeared for six days into the Mission Street Woods and returned – safe . . . but different. A little boy who used to see words as nothing but jumbled letters, but now can ace a quiz in less than a minute. A little boy who has the ability to change his mother’s financial status. A little boy who has to get a treehouse built before it’s too late . . . .

“DEATH IS COMING! DEATH IS HERE! WE’LL DIE ON CHRISTMAS DAY!”

^That sucks. I love Christmas. Today begins the official one-month countdown until I can begin Clark Griswalding up the house.

I’m going to do things a little differently here when it comes to this review. I’m going to talk about some stuff I didn’t like (while still giving this a pretty high rating).

#1. Here is one of my Kindle notes . . . .

“This has to end by midnight and there are still 200 pages left. Yikes.”

You are going to hear a lot of talk about how this book is waaaaaaay too long. Because it is. Like 350 pages too long.

#2. Has Stephen Chbotsky ever even met a seven year old? You already have to be able to suspend disbelief in order for a group of kids to be building a McMansion of a treehouse complete with a locking door, shutters, glass windows and a trapdoor with a rope ladder, but JFC - seven???? Not only are these kids better at flipping treehouses than Chip and Joanna Gaines, but they are also pros at sneaking out of the house – they aren’t afraid of the dark and scary woods – they curse like sailors and can’t wait for the chance to see some nekkid titties on Showtime.

#3. There are a lot of things that will call to mind to another recent(ish) release. Between the concerned mother, and the local sheriff haunted by his own demons, and Charlie’s “headaches," and the imaginary side . . . .

But hey, at least those things aren’t similar to a freaking worldwide phenomenon with a ginormous fanbase, right????

Oh, wait.

So why the high rating?

#1. For not only having the balls to not just barf out book after book after book on the heels of his first success, but to release something completely different than that megahit all these years later.

#2. For the fact that despite all of my gripes, I read this puppy squisher in two days. Obviously it held my interest.

#3. For the ending. The ending is excellent. Unlike some other megafamous authors who shall remain nameless, but have a tendency to shit the bed in horror stories that wrap up with things like giant alien spiders or . . . giant ants.

#4. Ambrose . . . .

Y’all know I have old lady brain, but I won’t be forgetting Ambrose any time soon.

Endless thanks to Grand Central Publishing for offering me an early copy of this title in exchange for my honest review. This will remain in a prime location on the shelf.

I was thrilled to see a new novel by Stephen Chbosky after loving the Perks of Being a Wallflower and I was not disappointed. Imaginary Friend is very different from his first novel but definitely worth a read. Kate, along with her son Christopher, is on the run from an abusive relationship and finds a nice place to settle in. Everything seems to be going well until Christopher disappears for several days. Thankfully he is found but it is quickly realized that he is not the same. What happened to him while he was gone and is he hearing voices now? What follows is a fight for their lives. It's creepy, it's dark and it's beautifully written. This is definitely a well written book that keeps you on the edge of your seat. A young adult horror novel that is very engaging. Highly recommend! Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

At it's heart this is an epic tale of good versus evil.

"Make me hit a deer"

Something lies dormant in Mills Grove until Christopher and his mother arrive. Years ago, a terrified child went missing from his own home. Nobody believed him that the monsters were real. Now Christopher has gone missing too, but he is returned.. changed...seeing more...knowing more... wise beyond his years and paying the price for his new abilities.

"We'll all die on Christmas day!"

As Christopher becomes more aware of what's happening, something insidious is also aware of Christopher and it's infecting the town with evil. I loved the spooky atmosphere in this book, the way the characters were fleshed out and brought to life. I even at certain points had sympathy for the bullies.

Stephen Chbosky took me on a crazy ride with this book! I knew it would be creepy after reading the synopsis, but I can honestly say I did not predict the direction this book took. For a 700-page book, it reads quickly so don't be too intimidated by its size. I was hooked from the beginning. This book has everything - supernatural, good vs. evil, gore, the importance of a mother's love - the works. I really like Chbosky's writing style and the way he used formatting to highlight certain points or emphasize the importance of a topic. Christopher's mother, Kate Reese, was my favorite character. She was an amazing woman who overcame a lifetime of abuse in order to be the best mother for her child. She would have given up everything she had to protect her son.

I do have to say, the age of Christopher and his friends was a little unbelievable. The boys are supposed to be seven years old; however, their dialogue and actions in the story were too mature for that age. I have a five year old son and can't imagine him communicating the way the children in this book did any time soon. I think it would made more sense to age the boys around 11-12, but at the same time Christopher needed to be young enough to still see his mother through the innocent eyes of a younger child. So I'm torn on my own opinion there. The book could probably have been cut down closer to 500 pages, there seemed to be a lot of fluff near the end.

It is tough to fully review this book without giving spoilers, but I will say this - there is a theme of God vs. The Devil in this book that I believe Chbosky executed perfectly. He captured the pure evil of The Devil in a way that I haven't seen before and I applaud him for that.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it was the perfect way to kickstart my October reading.

I would like to thank Grand Central Publishing for sending me a free copy of this book.

I loved Chbosky's writing. Only knowing him for the sensitive and heartfelt Perks Of Being A Wallflower, I knew he could write, but his writing shines in this horror novel. The rising action takes many turns and delivers a satisfying end to a masterful tale.

This is frankly just too long. I don't mind a bit of a door stopper, but this book should have been considerably shorter. The writing is good and so it the story, but it dragged on, which took away from my enjoyment, unfortunately.