A clumsy, Stephen King-lite, Chbosky's second novel is part mysterious horror, part fantasy that fails to stick a decent landing the first half of the book does a good job at setting up.
Katie escapes an abusive relationship with her Son, Christopher. After settling in Mill Grove, Pennsylvania and forming some sort of normality, Christopher disappears in the woods, only to return a few days later with no memory of his dissappearance and a curious desire to build a tree house.
But once the mysterious setting is established, Chbosky delves so far into tired and repetitive tropes that, by page 500, you'll beg for it all to be over. There's so many little pieces to slot together; the overarching good vs evil storyline, a collection of odd characters to spook the cast out, and maybe the oddest thing of all, the completely unbelievable main characters. For a group of young teenagers, the writing is so off and doesn't fit the tone of how old they're meant to be.
The same goes for the stories pacing - one minute, you're locked in a tense, horror sequence, the next, everything slows down to the point of none-movement.
For a writer of such a popular, well written novel like Perks of Being a Wallflower, it's weird that Imaginary Friend is so off kilter that it's difficult to get through. It's a shame, as the strong start is promising, but the latter half is a dull, lifeless affair.

It’s a no from me.
Thank you to Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book that I had high hope for (loved Perks), but you wanted an honest opinion in return...here it is - I really wish I hadn’t bothered.
Firstly this is a big book, over 700 pages and I estimate that I was bored before even hitting the 25% marker. After that point it was just nonsense going round and round. I would imagine there would be more fans if the author/publisher had cut the volume by half and condensed the (non) action.
It is marketed as horror? Not sure what genre I would place it in really, maybe Christian Fantasy....neither words would have inspired me to pick this up.
I persevered with this book, coming back to it over several months, determined to finish it as I feel duty bound to give it a proper chance when it is a free copy and had genuinely hoped it might get better....it didn’t.
Just glad the torture is finally over and I can move on to more enjoyable reads.
Sorry!

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

First half was fantastic; some incredible characters and the worldbuilding was second to none. Did feel the book suffered from ending fatigue though, and the second half could have stood to lose a couple of hundred pages of unnecessary subplots.

Christopher and his mum have moved a few times, running from her abusive ex. His father had suffered from some quite severe mental problems which escalated until he committed suicide. His mother tries so hard to do her best for Christopher, but they don't have much. Christopher struggles in school; numbers just don't make sense to him and the letters mix themselves up on the page.

One night Christopher disappears into the woods. He isn't found until a week later. He doesn't remember what happened to him during that time, but suddenly things start to look up for the family. And Christopher has a new friend...

This book is fantastically creepy right from the very beginning. I am a keen fan of the horror genre, so I think of myself of being quite discerning and not easily impressed. I was very impressed with the ideas in this book, and there were plenty of times I felt a shiver run down my spine and had to tuck myself a bit further down in the covers (you know, to protect myself from monsters).

I haven't read the author's famous book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but after reading this I think I definitely will. I can imagine the hype is for good reason, because his writing is really accomplished. His characters are fully developed and come to life within the story, creating true investment in what happens to them. And the baddies are as hateable as you want them to be, often reminiscent of a bully you used to know or a scary story you've heard before. This is what makes it feel like a classic straight away.

The only downside to this book is its length. It took me a really, really long time to read. I read it on my kindle so I don't know how many pages it is, but it must be over 1,000. Which is fine, but I felt like it was unnecessary in this case. The pace and plot did fall down at a few points, and it definitely would benefit from some serious editing. Some parts of it I felt weren't really needed, and you wouldn't miss them.

I guess my only other criticism is the main character, Christopher. He just such a goody goody! I just can't relate to a young boy who never does anything wrong, only thinks good, pure thoughts, and is just so perfect. It's not realistic, and I don't believe that after all the adversity he'd faced in his life especially that he would be like that. I've never met anyone so well behaved! So this ruined it a bit for me. There was no hint that he is just an ordinary kid who acts out and gets in trouble just like any other kid does.

Having said that, I still really enjoyed reading the whole thing. It was creepy, well thought out and the characters were mostly very strong. I particularly liked the sheriff, because he is just a normal, shy guy trying to be brave even though he might not be the typical hero.

I'd recommend this book to any horror fans. I'd even go so far as to say that it's reminiscent of Stephen King! Perhaps not quite up to the level of the master, but still pretty good!

Having loved "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower" I was keen to read this book, but it was not for me at all. This is partly my own fault for not realising that it was a completely different genre - I am not a fan of horror books. I gave it a shot and for a while I found myself beginning to get drawn in to the story but my main criticism of the book is that it is far too long and around halfway through I just lost interest as there seemed such a long way to go. If horror is your genre it may be enjoyable. I don't think it is a bad book but just not for me personally.

When I finally got around to reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower I loved it so when I heard the author had written a new book I had to read it. I also loved Imaginary Friend but the two are very different books.

Imaginary Friend was a terrifying book and I couldn’t have put it down if I wanted. It was a cross between Stranger Things and one of Stephen King’s more character led books.

The beginning of the book takes place 50 years before the main events of the rest of the book and from the very start I found it eerie.

A young boy climbs out his bedroom window and hopes his family won’t realise he is gone.

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

“He looked up at the moon. It was full. The Second night it had been full in a row. A blue moon. That’s what his big brother told him. Like the song that Mom and Dad danced to sometimes. Back when they were happy. Back before David made them afraid.

Blue Moon.

I saw you standing alone.

Little David Olson heard something in the bushes. For a second, he thought it might be another one of those dreams. He forced himself to stay awake.”

The hissing lady was scary, and I almost made myself look behind me when I was reading it.

“The voice was the hissing lady. He knew it. She always had a nice voice at first. Like a substitute teacher trying too hard. But when you looked at her, she wasn’t nice anymore. She turned to teeth and a hissing mouth. Worse than a wicked witch. Worse than anything. Four legs like a dog. Or a long neck like a giraffe. Hssss.”

The hissing lady really is the stuff of nightmares.

“The hissing lady was using his mom’s voice now. No fair. But she did that. She could even look like her. The first time, it had worked. He went over to her on the lawn. And she grabbed him. He didn’t sleep for two days after that. When she took him to the house with the basement. And that oven.”

David has some kind of task he is intent on completing.

“David was terrified, but he couldn’t stop. It was all up to him. He had to finish or the hissing lady would get out. And his big brother would be the first to die.”

50 years later Christopher is in the car next to his mom. She woke him in the middle of the night to run from her abusive partner.

“She was always worried when they moved. Maybe it would be different this time. That’s what she always said since Dad died. This time it will be different. Even though it never was.”

Christopher’s relationship with his mother was one of the things that made book so good, no matter what happened she was always there for him and I felt it helped the reader become more invested in both characters.

“He always called her Mom now. She told him to stop calling her Mommy three years earlier. She said it made him small, and she never wanted her son to be small.”

Even though Christopher is only seven and a half years old he feels an intense desire to protect his mum. He never wants her to be hurt again like her ex Jerry hurt her.

When Christopher’s mum finally stopped driving, they were in a little town called Mill Grove. She wants Christopher to go to a good school, so she lies on an application form for the school and put their address as her employers as she didn’t want to put the motel because it was out of the catchment area.

“Christopher’s mother said she chose the little town of Mill Grove because it was small and safe and had a great elementary school. But deep down Christopher thought maybe she picked it because it seemed tucked away from the rest of the world. One highway in. One highway out. Surrounded by trees. They didn’t know anyone there. And if no one knew them, Jerry couldn’t find them.”

I was invested in Christopher and his mother’s story from the start because the author did a good job creating a sense of empathy for them. It was four years since his mother found his mentally ill dad dead in a bathtub full of blood with no note. Since then they were in a lot of debt and his mother had had a string of bad relationships. In Mill Grove Christopher’s mom is determined to change that.

“A parent with a job is a hero to someone. Even if it was cleaning up after old people in a retirement home.”

She starts working at Shady Pines and quickly finds her feet, but the owner is a mean lady who makes like difficult for everyone.

“Everything about Kathleen Collins was perfect. From her tight brown hair to her elegant suit to her polite contempt for ‘those people’ Jesus would have actually loved. The Collins family always sat up front. The Collins family was always first in line for Holy Communion. And if her husband’s hair slipped out of place, her finger would be there instantly to put it right back like a raven’s claw with a tasteful manicure.

As for their son Brady, the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.”

Before long Christopher starts seeing strange things around town, like a cloud with a human face.

“Normally, Christopher wouldn’t have thought much about it. Clouds were normal. But every day when his mother drove him to school. Every time they drove past the Mission Street woods. Every sunset they drove to CCD. The cloud face was there. And it was always the same face…”

One day Christopher follows the cloud face into the Mission Street woods and doesn’t return for six days. When he returns, he remembers nothing until he starts talking about a Nice Man who helped him. On his return Christopher is changed, he does better in school, and he knows things about people.

Christopher’s changes aren’t all for the good. He begins to experience blinding headaches; incredibly high fevers and he sees terrifying imaginary people.

Soon everyone in town begins to develop flu-like symptoms and becomes increasingly violent and an old woman starts telling everyone that they will all die on Christmas day.

In hindsight I should have seen the major twists coming but I had no clue. The book was one of the best horror books I have read for a long time and I will certainly never look at deer the same way again.

I could not put this book down,absolutely remarkable. I have been so terrified throughout. It was amazing.

I really wanted to like this way more than I did. My excitement about this book started and ended with 'it's written by the author of Perks of Being a Wallflower'. I knew this would be a very different experience to Perks, but I struggled so much with this.

Most of my issues boiled down to two things: (1) the length of the book and (2) the speculative plot.

(1) This book was just way too long in my opinion. The beginning had a very slow pace and for a long time nothing seemed to be happening, so I started to lose interest. By the time things were happening, I just really didn't care. It was a struggle to read from start to finish and I considered DNFing it many times because I simply wasn't enjoying myself. But part of me was determined to finish it, and now I'm just happy it's over. I am glad I swapped to the audiobook for this one, as it made the story move along way faster than it was physically reading it.

(2) I'm a big fantasy reader so I'm very used to weird, unrealistic plotlines, and for the most part I'm good at getting my head around them, but this one was just very confusing for me. I don't read horror books often, but I'm thinking the more speculative storylines are maybe not the ones for me. The limits of my suspension of disbelief were tested so much. I thought I understood things, and then suddenly things change and I'm confused all over again. I found it very nonsensical and hard to follow.

I'm even more disappointed that I predicted a lot of the plot twists very early on. I was a least hoping to be surprised by the ending, but unfortunately not. Also, it had a dark atmosphere, but I wouldn't call this book scary. There were a few moments that made me cringe, but not enough to actually creep me out.

There's a whole host of things in this book that added up to me not enjoying my reading experience, but I don't think I could ever list them all. I hope this gives you a good idea.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

I was looking forward to reading this book; when I started it, it seemed a lot of book bloggers were also reading it, so I was looking forward to seeing what others thought.

The book caught my attention at the beginning; it was extremely creepy and gripping, to the point I was afraid to turn my bedroom light off for the fear of the Hissing Lady. I also cared for the main character, seven-year-old Christopher.

However, I quickly lost interest. The book is just too long at 720 pages. I was reading it on my Kindle and would I could read for 45+ minutes, for the % read to move by just 1%! The book was repetitive at times; if you took some of this out, I feel the book would be down by around 300 pages.

I sadly didn't enjoy this book: it was too long, violent, and not my sort of genre. However, thanks to the publishers and author for the ARC.

„Death is coming. Death is here. You’ll die on Christmas Day.”

“Imaginary Friend” is a new novel by Stephen Chbosky. It was written twenty years after the release of his famous work “The Perks of Being the Wallflower”. In the meantime, he was working mostly as a film director and screenwriter. He admitted he missed his writing and that how “Imaginary Friend” was born.
The book itself is huge. I was reading through it slowly, I have an eBook and physical copy, so I could get back to it wherever I was. There are opinions that it is far too long, but I think it’s just the writing style. The author tells his story slowly, showing us life in a little town of Mills Grove and its townsfolk. In this aspect, the “Imaginary Friend” has a lot of similar vibes as Stephen King books (Chbosky admitted he is a huge fan of master of horror). I never have a problem with the novel being too long, so I wasn't bothered at all by that aspect, on the contrary, I quite enjoyed it.
Christopher Reese is a troubled eight-year-old boy. After his father died, he and his other constantly move from one place to another in the hope of finding a place they could call real home. That’s how they land in Mill Grove, small and unimportant town. Kate Reese makes sure her son get a place in a good school even though it causes him great anxiety (he is dyslexic) because he always struggles to keep up with the class at school. One day, while he’s waiting for his mum to pick him up, he notices a weird cloud in the sky. A strange phenomenon seems to be looking and listening to him, so he follows it into the wood. For this moment on, nothing will ever be the same.
“Imaginary Friend’ is like a mixture of “Stranger Things” series and Stephen King books. We have a bunch of kids who are getting into troubles, a small town, a good sheriff and a mother who’ll do everything, to give her son a better life then she had. Because of the length of the book, we get to know all of them well. We learn about their dreams and aspirations, their fears and bad memories. We also learn about other townsfolk too. Thanks to that we get attached to them very quickly. Chapters are written from the perspective of different characters, and the author very skilfully expresses in his writing subtle differences between perceiving the world through the eye of the child and an adult.
It is a horror novel, so you probably wondering If it is scary. It can be really creepy sometimes, yes. And the farther we get in a story, the more terrifying things are happening. But this effect is not achieved by showing sheer brutal scenes. It’s more about suspense, and imagining what else can happen, how bad can it go, and what horrible things can be crawling in the dark.
And even though the idea of another reality next to our is nothing original or new, the characters Chbosky created are unique. There is a terrifying hissing lady, an army of deer doing her bidding and a mailbox people with eyes and mouth that are sewn shut. And a Nice Man, of course. I was lucky to be on an event where Stephen Chbosky was talking about this book and how it was created, and he had loads of funny stories explaining a lot of things we can see in this novel. Like the deer, he always used to see them in his backyard, it was usually quite a delightful experience. But when sometimes there was the whole flock of them standing there and just looking at him it seems very ominous, hence their role in the book.
Christianity plays quite a significant role in this book. The church is important in small-town life, and some of the characters are very devoted. There are also a lot of biblical symbols, like an ever-present conflict with good and evil, people atoning for their crimes and pure faith protecting from all darkness. I’ve heard it bothered a lot of people, but for me, it went well with the story. I couldn’t care less if religion is Christianity, Muslim, or Buddhism. The ideas that people believe in and what’s giving them comfort is indispensable. And to highlight that love and forgiveness wins against evil is not only religion-related.
I highly recommend this book. Even though I wasn’t a hundred per cent convinced to some of the twists, it was still a great story, and I spent quite a lot of time enjoying it. I haven’t read “Th Perks of Being a Wall Flower” but after reading “Imaginary Friend,” I added it to my list. I think the author has a real storytelling talent. It shows in the novel, and it was visible while he was speaking during his book release event. To tempt you even more, I can tell you that soon we can expect this story on a big screen, as Chbosky confirmed he would like to work on it in the next three years. Don’t waste your time waiting then, and read it!

A brilliantly creepy atmospheric read following a young boy and his friends (think younger Stranger Things) and his mum as they battle otherworldly forces.

The first two-thirds of the book was brilliant and although it is a HUGE 700+ page book, I flew through it. There was a chunk of the book towards the end that became quite convoluted and I wasn't entirely sure what was really going on - but hey, I went with it.
I would not say this book was 'scary' more unsettling,
I really enjoyed the mix of different voices and characters, and the relationship between the young boy, Christopher and his mother was truly beautiful.

One criticism I do have is that the boys in the story are aged 8 but definitely read like 10-11 aged boys. As a mother of an 8-year-old boy I can assure you he is not capable of completing some of the acts the boys in this book undertook. There is no way my son is skipping around town in the middle of the night with his pals and building structurally sound treetop structures when I still have to remind him 5+ times to put his god damn socks on.

Overall the book was a good read, it would have been better if the children were older and he book was 150 pages shorter. but it was a solid 3.5 star read.

This is a somewhat creepy tale of a boy who goes missing in a forest. I started to read this but it was so long winded that I felt I'd been reading for a very long time and I was nowhere near finishing and nothing had really happened. I'm afraid that I had to stop reading and move on. DNF

This was an old school good vs evil story and I really enjoyed it. We follow Christopher and his mother, Kate as they move to a small town surrounded by woods. Christopher goes into the woods one day and is missing for 6 days, then comes back, but when he returns, he is very different and the battle for the souls of the world begins. Firstly, I thought this was an open homage to Stephen King, which I really appreciated. The small town setting, the group of children fighting evil forces, the family dynamics - all were very well done and I thought Chbosky did a great job of weaving together all of the characters in the town creating authentic and believable motivations for them all. The plotting was really tight, which was impressive given that this is a 700+ page novel. The danger in an undertaking of this size is that the narrative can become meandering and self-indulgent, but that didn't happen here. For me, each scenario served either the forward motion of the plot or went towards deepening the characterisation, so it never felt overly long. I thought there were some really great turns within the plot and some fabulous false starts and reveals throughout, which gave the narrative a really well defined structure that I enjoyed a great deal. My only criticism is that I felt Christopher read a little older than his age - he is only 7 in the story and there were some things that felt a little off kilter in his characterisation, age-wise. Having said that, I think this will appeal to anyone who likes IT or Stranger Things as there is a real sense of nostalgia in reading a book where there is a straight good vs evil battle. Morally grey stories are fabulous, but sometimes, it's equally fun to read about goodies against baddies and this book ticks that box with great aplomb.
I received a free copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for a fair and honest review.

"We can swallow our fear or let our fear swallow us."

This was an intriguing read and very different to the kinds of stories I usually get sucked into. I have to say, I can't see myself picking up another literary horror anytime soon, but can't deny the skill with which Chbosky pieced this together. It reminded me a little of the horror stories Neil Gaiman writes, except much slower with the pacing and a lot more background detail. On that note, one criticism I have is that this book could have been shorter. I don't mind long books - I just felt like there were parts that felt a bit more long-winded than necessary.

Christopher is a great character and it's very easy to get sucked into his world of mystery and adventure. It reminded me of being little and listening to scary stories at a friends place, which you don't believe at all - except for when you're trying to sleep and you start to wonder just a little bit. It was spooky and suspenseful, though I do feel that the suspense may have stood stronger in a more concise novel. There were definitely parts that kept upping the ante as well, and keeping you on your toes, which worked really well.

It's very easy to read, which I love. I listened to an interview with Chbosky talking about writing this story and he seemed very excited to be producing another book after focusing on film making for so long. It's really exciting to see how he's trying different things with his writing and I'm excited to see what else he comes up with.

This book has been many years in the making. Twenty years since Stephen Chbosky’s last book, the classic Perks of a Wallflower, and this is quite a change of pace for the author, echoing the works of master of horror, Stephen King.

Christopher is seven years old and has already experienced more tragedy in his seven years than most people do in their whole lives. Fleeing from his mother’s abusive boyfriend and having already lost his father to suicide, Christopher and his mother arrive in a new town with few possessions and little money. School holds little respite for Christopher as he struggles academically and quickly becomes the target for bullies. Then Christopher goes missing for six days, hope is almost lost when he emerges from the woods, seemingly unharmed but unable to explain what happened. What Christopher is struggling to explain is the world that exists alongside our own where a great evil is lurking and threatening to break out into the open.

Densely plotted and filled with characters, this is a fantastic book. There’s shades of Stranger Things and Twin Peaks and enough characterisation and back story to please the most ardent Stephen King fans. The story is complex and sprawling but also utterly absorbing. There’s several twists and turns and what feels like the third act carries on for longer than you would expect but feels all the more stronger for it. This is a book to lose yourself in for several days. It’s a hard read at times as Chobsky really puts his characters through the wringer but it’s a book that carries a great emotional weight so feels justified. It’s a story of the strength of friendship, the battle of good and evil and the family we make for ourselves. Christopher’s fathers death hangs heavy over him as he wonders if what he’s seeing is supernatural or mental illness inherited from his father. Its a tremendous book and definitely worth investing your time in. There’s nothing better than an epic read that falls into the five star category and that’s certainly where this one falls for me.

I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

This, for me, was overlong and although there were aspects I enjoyed, ultimately it didn't work. It drew unfavourable comparison with Steven King's storytelling and it proved a frustratingly unsatisfying read.

Determined to improve life for her son, Christopher, Kate Reese flees an abusive relationship and starts over in the town of Mill Grove. It seems like a safe and idyllic town, until Christopher vanishes for six days. When he emerges from the woods at the edge of town, he is unharmed but different. Before, he struggled at school, now he’s one of the brightest kids there. Now, he speaks to an imaginary friend who gives him a mission he must complete by Christmas. Now, Christopher is wrapped up in a war between good and evil where he has a vital role to play.

This book is much more than just a horror. It covers family, friendship, community and good and evil. It is chilling and full of twists, as well as being surprisingly heartwarming. Honestly, how Stephen Chbosky went from Perks of Being a Wallflower to this is beyond me. Imaginary Friend is truly creepy and haunting, with an exciting and atmospheric plot – a far cry from the emotional angst of Perks.

My biggest piece of criticism would be that it is quite a bit longer than it needed to be. Some aspects of the story are very repetitive (Christopher seemed to spend an awful lot of time actively seeking out the Hissing Lady, finding her, and then running away. Like, why are you looking for her if you’re just going to run away?) Although I did love this book, I definitely think it could have benefited from having a few chapters cut. The unnecessary length and repetitiveness unfortunately got in to way of this being a five (or even four) star book.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed Imaginary Friend, an engrossing thriller-horror story of good and evil.

I have never read The Perks of Being a Wallflower but I think that this worked in my favour as I had absolutely no expectations when I first started to read this novel.

Stephen Chbosky has a very appealing style of writing and the characters he created were very believable to me, giving me a great sense of apprehensiveness and foreboding. Although the book was the longest I've read this year, the chapters were short and told from varying points of view which helped to break up the story into convenient chunks, with suitable breaks.

The different voices were excellently done and I found Imaginary Friend to be very readable, if at first, daunting, though there were some very dark and disturbing scenes that included physical assault. In this gripping tale of violence, strangeness and melancholia, the plot moved along at a comfortable rate for me and Stephen Chbosky wrapped everything up neatly which was rather satisfying.

Dispiriting, but not ostentatiously so, this was (mostly) a pleasure to read and I devoured these pages with gusto and enthusiasm.

Imaginary Friend is an extremely impressive novel and I’ll certainly be looking out for Stephen Chbosky's next book.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Orion via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I got 1/3 of the way through this before deciding life is too damn short. At 700 pages it’s just way too long. There was a lot I liked about it, but not enough to make me want to read another 500 odd pages of it.