Reviews

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

jordynjohnson's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I really, really enjoyed this book. The world was so immersive, dark and thought provoking and I found myself feeling so upset for Christopher and his mother.

I was so shocked with the twist that the Nice Man was actually the bad guy and the Hissing Lady was the one trying to help everyone.

The themes were really confronting but it was definitely a worthwhile read. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a fantastic job, her performance was really moving. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Child death

vonderbash's review against another edition

5.0

It's like a combination of "The Stand" and "Stranger Things."
What a trip. It's long, but I was on edge the entire time.

faithsmith122's review against another edition

4.0

This book definitely took me a lot longer to get through than a book normally does but it was SO worth it. I originally bought this book a year and a half ago in passing just from seeing it was written by Stephen Chbosky since The Perks of Being a Wallflower is my favorite book of all time and NEEDED to read any other book written by him. I’m so happy I finally read it because somehow this book in a completely different genre made me feel so many similar feelings as tpobaw it was shocking. This definitely isn’t my favorite choice of genre but the style of writing was very captivating and the short chapters made it an easy read. There’s so many different POVs throughout the book that you really feel like you’re a part of the town and know the characters well.

darcey_kyle05's review against another edition

3.0

The writing, the vibe, the whole first half-ish of this book was so good… the writing continued to be pretty good. By the half way mark it kept seeming like it was coming to the climax and then It didn’t. Which is okay I was understanding of the need for these pieces later. I’m not a religious person so the last part of this book was just overkill for me. I wanted to love this. I wanted to love this SO MUCH. & the first 3/4 or more of the book, I did. But that ending section…. & it’s really not the religious aspect that brought this down from 5 star to MAYBE 3 stars. It’s the way it was done. Sloshing my way through the end, being beat with the “message” over and over. And then to be left with something of a cliffhanger (which I was expecting) and already had a theory about how that scenario ACTUALLY came to fruition.

And that’s all I can I say. Anything else would be spoilers for people who still want to read this.

christin3vans's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

tatyanavogt's review against another edition

3.0

I think this book did a lot of cool things, but it was just too long and I found myself getting a little bored at times.

goodem9199's review against another edition

3.0

So take Stephen King, Coraline, The Shining, Stranger Things, Nightmare on Elm Street and the worst nightmare you’ve ever had and you might get a tiny idea of what you’re getting into with this book. Disturbing and super
unsettling.

stefarie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

esbeeos's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

terihans75's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

This one creeped me out to no end! A bit long and a bit of gore but well worth the read. The audiobook is especially creepy!