I'm left intrigued to continue this story. I am unsure where this story is going. But the atmosphere is dark and tense.
Fast paced.

This wasn’t a book for me but I could definitely understand why others would like or even love it.
The pace was too slow for me and I just didn’t get along with the writing style.

https://lynns-books.com/2022/11/07/imaginary-friend-by-stephen-chbosky/
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Brilliant ideas, too much repetition

I actually had a review copy of this and was so cross with myself for not managing to pick it up in a timely fashion that I also bought the audio version so I could joint read/listen in the hopes of catching up with some of my backlist books.

I have to say this got off to an excellent start as far as I was concerned. A woman on the run from an abusive relationship trying desperately to find a better life for her son. Kate and Christopher eventually find a small town that feels remote enough to stay out of reach but unfortunately disaster strikes when Christopher goes missing for six days. When he unexpectedly reappears everything begins to change.

Imaginary Friend is a creeping horror story that manages to include plenty of dark material. As you start the story there’s almost a feel good element with Christopher and his mum having a massive stroke of good luck. Things really seem to be working out for the two and it’s really good to see things falling into place – obviously you know this is going to change and after Chris goes missing and returns his character begins to alter. His schoolwork improves but he experiences severe headaches and on top of that he becomes strangely obsessed with a project to build a treehouse in the woods in which he went missing. An idea that seems to have been planted by his new imaginary friend. Of course, his mum isn’t keen for him to go into the woods at all and so Chris and his friends resort to a lot of sneaking around.

Now I mentioned the inclusion of ‘dark material’ and I’m not going to discuss everything but will mention a few things. This is a small, idyllic looking town and yet appearances can be deceiving. Behind closed doors we have plenty of uncomfortable reading and as the drama escalates these issues begin to creep out into the open. Marriages gone wrong, child abuse, alcohol dependence, bullying, religious fervour – to name but a few. So, bear that in mind if these are potential triggers for you before picking this one up.

Basically, and not to give too much away, this is a fight against good and evil and a race against time to prevent all hell breaking loose, In the meantime the whole town seems to be infected with a strange sort of hysteria and the build up becomes intense and bloody.

Before I go any further I would say that this book is so good in so many ways. The writing is really good and some of the ideas are brilliant. The characters are well portrayed and the whole story is full of creepy atmosphere. But. It’s simply too long. And, before you break out the torches and pitchforks, in my defense I will say that I’m not against long books per se – but I am against them feeling long – and this one just became too much repetition. It felt like one long life or death drama after another but rather than creating tension it had the opposite effect and I found myself becoming completely complacent with regard to the characters and their eventual fates. So many times I felt like this must be it, the grande finale, but so many times I was wrong and the storyline began to feel like ‘build up, scary things happen, people nearly die’ rinse and repeat.

To be honest I wouldn’t dissuade anyone from reading this. There are some superb moments here and a twist that I really didn’t see coming but it just didn’t work for me and I’m not above admitting it could be a mood thing or perhaps me simply going into this with my own expectations that were maybe ill founded.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

wow woW WOW I absolutely LOVED this. Wonderfully creepy. You'll want to go into this book knowing as little as possible. Honestly the best way!

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book and therefore didn’t finish, I just didn’t connect with this one. Not for me, sorry.

It's great to be in a position to recommend much more diverse books to our young people at school. Building the senior school library as a place where students actually come and find books that they want to read as opposed to books that teachers think they ought to read is an important responsibility and one we take really seriously.
Books like this are such a positive move as they will appeal to a broader set of readers than we are usually attracting. Dealing with modern issues in a clear and captivating way with a strong narrative voice and characters that the students can relate to is critical as we move forwards. This book is both an intelligent and compelling read that will hold even the most reluctant reader's attention and keep them turning the pages long into the night. It keeps the reader on their toes and ensures that you give it your full attention too. I found myself thinking about its characters and events even when I wasn't reading it and looking forward to snatching kore time with it and I hope that my students feel the same. An accessible, gripping and engrossing read that I can't recommend highly enough. Will absolutely be buying a copy for the library and heartily recommending it to both staff and students.

DNF. I couldn't connect with this book at all and found it really hard to get into. I had high hopes for this, which is a shame.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this one. Unfortunately, I DNF'd the book. The genre ended up being a lot more disturbing that I expected and just isn't up my street at all.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. It wasn't for me and I can't finish it. It wasn't what I was expecting based on the genre (general fiction) and the blurb, and found it disturbing as I don't usually read this type of book.

Christopher and his mother move to the small town of Mill Grove after they run from her abusive ex-partner and, at first, their bad luck continues. The only work Kate can get just about pays the bills and Christopher still struggles to follow the numbers and letters which leap around the pages of his school books: when Christopher disappears for six days in local woods their new-found security is set to vanish as hospital bills start to pile in. But, just as Kate is set to skip town again it seems that miracles start to happen – Christopher, for the first time in his life, gets a perfect score on a maths test and using the numbers which were his answers Kate wins the lottery. Life seems to be improving until we realise that the voice Christopher hears in his head, a friendly voice, encouraging him to build a tree-house in the very woods where he went missing, is frighteningly real. The fight in his dreams, between good and evil forces, starts to play out in real life and everyone in Mill Grove is affected. With its cast of children led by a charismatic youngster it reminded me in some ways of Good Omens (never a bad thing) but it is far, far darker. There are still moments of humour but the sense of foreboding which starts to hang over the town as more and more residents fall into a flu-like illness, rising rage and a mindless hatred for Christopher and his friends makes it much more menacing. It also shares strong religious overtones with the Pratchett/Gaiman novel but, in this case, I definitely got the impression that the author was raised as a Catholic (like most of the residents of Mill Grove itself).

If you enjoyed Good Omens and Carrie this would be an excellent choice but, honestly, I think it is worth the effort of reading (even if 700+ pages seems like a big ask) for anyone who enjoys good writing.

Thanks for the opportunity to read the extract of Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky, I'm afraid that it wasn't for me on this occasion and I struggled to connect. This may be one of those "right books but wrong time" instances and it may be something I return to in the future.

First off, I'd like to state my rating of this book is not because I was comparing it to Perks. I went into this book fully aware it was a very different genre then the previous, and I honestly didn't really know what to expect. While the writing in here was fine, and I'm sure for some people more versed in horror thrillers than me, there may have been some great writing and story play, I just overall did not enjoy my reading experience with this book hence the low rating.

Imaginary Friend follows the life of seven-year-old Christopher Reese and his mother Kate as they flee Kate's abusive boyfriend and end up making a home in Mill Grove, Pennsylvania - a small town with a close-knit community and most importantly, a safe place for a new start. Things don't go to plan when Christopher disappears for almost a week and when he reappears, he's not the same. Now he hears a hissing woman and sees a nice man, and he's aware that something bad is coming for everyone in the town in a terrible battle between good and evil.

Hmm, where to start? The writing and the characters in this I did really enjoy. I definitely felt a very instant connection to Christopher, who is genuinely a very sweet little boy who loves his mom, and Kate is that courageous lioness of a mother you'd expect her to be while still being really brave to new beginnings and romantic relationships. I loved Christopher's relationship with Special Ed and the M&M's - Stephen Chbosky is excellent at building up such lovely personalities in his characters that just wrap around your heart. He also showed his skill in this book at some not-so-nice characters like Mrs Collins and Brady and Jenny. Mrs Henderson and Miss Latzo also fell into this grey area where they were both good and bad because of circumstance but still redeemable.

I enjoyed the start of this book and the build-up to Christopher's disappearance and just what it was all about. Some of the twists and turns, and reveals, were cleverly done as well but I think sometimes when it comes to children in horror, things get a bit ridiculous that I don't find scary - such as the clouds, and the white plastic bag.

I'm still a newbie when it comes to horror and I don't have a vast array of titles under my belt yet so I'm still figuring out what I like to read about in the genre and this type of horror I think just wasn't quite it - from how ridiculous some of the scenarios got (though I could definitely feel the horror and how scary it would be if a town got sick and mad at the same time). I didn't really like how messy everything got - it kind of felt like it was in a room full of brawling, screaming people and honestly, it really made my mind feel very cluttered and like I wanted to just sit in some quiet space or meditate for a while.

I'm not a fan of extremely religious books, and I didn't like how this book slowly started to reveal all the religious undertones. I didn't find the last couple of pages very surprising but also I was a bit like wtf.

A lot of the characters in this book, particularly the women, had abusive storylines or pasts attached to them and I just didn't like how people acted towards the women and talked to them. It actually felt a bit dated. From abusive fathers and mothers, to sexual assault (including the molestation/sexual assault of a child by a sibling), drinking problems, shitty husbands and abortion (I didn't like the language used around abortion at all - how it was implied to be wrong/dirty/murder). The pressure on Mary Katherine's virginal state was a bit nauseating and honestly the lack of information/knowledge she seemed to possess around sex, sexual acts, and even simple things like pregnancy tests were all unbelievable for me. I didn't like how Mary Katherine's character was used.

This book is also HORRENDOUSLY long. Way, way, way too long! Things felt like they began reaching a peak at 50% through and then it just kept going and going and going. I'm a fast reader and I found this book very long, and was very aware when I was reading it how long it was. So I can't imagine how a slower reader would feel. I do think personally, I prefer reading longer books in physical format so I can see the pages I've read and how much I've left. So maybe I wouldn't have felt this if I had a physical book.

Maybe this book would be perfect for some fans of the horror genre, those who like the classics, and horror focusing on religion and an archaic form of good versus evil. It just didn't do much for me.

This sampler does exactly what it should : intrigue the reader no end and leave them desperately wanting more. Spooky, haunting, beautifully written.

Wow what a creepy read!! Even though this was just a small extract I'm am deeply intrigued as to where this will all lead to. Most defiantly piqued my interest into reading the book! Will make for a great autumn read. Can't wait!

This was interesting and definitely a different book compared to his previous book. I did enjoy it and thought it was a great written thrilling book!

I'm not sure what i was expecting when i started this but i wasn't prepared to be as creeped out as i was. I wasn't expecting an old school horror story from the writer of Perks that's for sure. It tapped into fears from my childhood that i'd forgotten or not thought about for many years. It made me wonder if there's a reason i store boxes and suitcases under my bed so no one could possible hide there. While some aspects may seem a little far fetched, if you go into reading this with an open mind you will thoroughly enjoy it,

This extract definitely piqued my interest - it looks like this will be dark and creepy read (perfect for Halloween). I'm frustrated I only got to read such a small section because it's not clear to me which direction this will take, but I will be keen to read the full book once it publishes.

Incredibly creepy in a way that makes me keep looking over my shoulder when I’m alone in my room, this novel has something very nostalgic about. Something like IT/Stranger Things but something special. I love Christopher as a character, he seems like the perfect set of eyes to tell this story through and I absolutely can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of this book!

A strong start and excellently spooky sample. Looks to be a brilliant Autumn read and I cannot wait to devour the whole thing!

Wow, that was scary! Written so well, which created the heart pacing atmosphere. This is the start to a longer novel where a child has been missing for 6days and comes back with no explanation.
I am looking forward to read the full text!