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lulu_readsalot's review against another edition
1.0
This is by far, one of the worst books I have read.
I enjoy fantasy and magical realism, but this situation with imaginary friends... feels simply wrong.
The plot is full of holes stated by the author since the beginning, like the doors.
Also the whole situation that an independent strong woman, albeit with imperfect edges and aspects (like everybody) can't be complete and needs fixing? There is not one single character in this book that is a multifaceted woman (meaning: in the personal and professional lives) that is "complete" or doesn't need saving.
I read this book for a book club and normally I would bring my book with me everywhere. Not this time.
I cannot with a straight face ever recommend this book.
Terrible choice.
I enjoy fantasy and magical realism, but this situation with imaginary friends... feels simply wrong.
The plot is full of holes stated by the author since the beginning, like the doors.
Also the whole situation that an independent strong woman, albeit with imperfect edges and aspects (like everybody) can't be complete and needs fixing? There is not one single character in this book that is a multifaceted woman (meaning: in the personal and professional lives) that is "complete" or doesn't need saving.
I read this book for a book club and normally I would bring my book with me everywhere. Not this time.
I cannot with a straight face ever recommend this book.
Terrible choice.
cityofstarlight_library's review against another edition
1.0
Minor spoilers (only for the first 15% because DNF)
---
Well, this book certainly takes the award for the most unusual book I've read in quite a while. Let me summarise what it's about in a sentence; a woman falls in love with her 6 year old nephews invisible friend.
No, I'm not kidding. This is the book. I'm really baffled at why she thought to write this but some people on GoodReads seem to really love it, so each to their own. This just wasn't my cup of tea. At all. I don't really have many good things to say about it but I have read Cecelia Ahern before, quite a few times actually, and this is the only one I didn't like. This isn't going to put me off reading her, you can't always like everything an author writes.
Anyway, let me get down to business. Why did I not like this book?
o1. Ivan.
So he is the invisible guy. He randomly one day see's Elizabeth's (the protagonist) nephew playing outside and thought 'ooh look, a young child, let me go over and play with him. That's not creepy at all'
Que? He sounds a bit like a pervert, not going to lie. He talks and acts incredibly childlike, but we don't actually know his age because he's not really human. I don't even think Ivan knows what he is, he's just as confused as we are. He's very vague with explaining about himself, he's like 'Well, I'm not human, but I'm not an alien, I might be this or that' dude, please just explain. Who the heck are you? To me, he's just The Ghost of Perverts Past. He also mentions about this being some kind of job, like he has a job in some kind of alternative ghost world, and I just don't understand. We get no explanations about this at all. Look, I love fantasy and I'm all for the weird and strange stories but this one was just too unclear.
So anyway, strange Ivan has found a kid he likes, and considering he has the 'Power of Friendship' (????), they strike up a friendship, freaking out the protag Elizabeth a bit because she is like 'uh, my nephew is weird, he talks to himself and I'm a career woman who knows nothing about kidsm fml'.
This brings me to my next issue.
o2. Ivan is a stalker.
He watches Elizabeth sleep, eat, follows her around the house, he blows on the back of her neck to see if she feels it. It's just all a little strange. Poor woman must have felt so uncomfortable because she knew there was something going on. He's infatuated with her and when she starts to show signs that she could potentially see or feel him, he just gets obsessed. I didn't get far enough into the story to see how she falls in love with this very odd and problematic 'ghost' but I'm not bothered enough to find out. Maybe he's just haunting her, I don't know, it's probably just a ghost thing.
o3. Elizabeth.
Ugh. Just, ugh. All she does is what I'm doing now - complain. I'm not one for reading someone in a novel just going 'woe is me, my life sucks' and mentioning about 6000 times about her sister and family in general. I'm reading a novel to be entertained and to see people tackle what's making them complain. She's just boring. I can't say I was fond of her, and I can honestly say that I judge for too for falling in love with a fucking ghost that is basically a kid. There's just too many layers of weird and discomfort for me to get into this.
Also, what would it look like if she's kissing an invisible man. I'm cracking up just thinking about it! You've seen Scary Movie 2, right? Oh dear god.
I can't. It's not for me.
---
Well, this book certainly takes the award for the most unusual book I've read in quite a while. Let me summarise what it's about in a sentence; a woman falls in love with her 6 year old nephews invisible friend.
No, I'm not kidding. This is the book. I'm really baffled at why she thought to write this but some people on GoodReads seem to really love it, so each to their own. This just wasn't my cup of tea. At all. I don't really have many good things to say about it but I have read Cecelia Ahern before, quite a few times actually, and this is the only one I didn't like. This isn't going to put me off reading her, you can't always like everything an author writes.
Anyway, let me get down to business. Why did I not like this book?
o1. Ivan.
So he is the invisible guy. He randomly one day see's Elizabeth's (the protagonist) nephew playing outside and thought 'ooh look, a young child, let me go over and play with him. That's not creepy at all'
Que? He sounds a bit like a pervert, not going to lie. He talks and acts incredibly childlike, but we don't actually know his age because he's not really human. I don't even think Ivan knows what he is, he's just as confused as we are. He's very vague with explaining about himself, he's like 'Well, I'm not human, but I'm not an alien, I might be this or that' dude, please just explain. Who the heck are you? To me, he's just The Ghost of Perverts Past. He also mentions about this being some kind of job, like he has a job in some kind of alternative ghost world, and I just don't understand. We get no explanations about this at all. Look, I love fantasy and I'm all for the weird and strange stories but this one was just too unclear.
So anyway, strange Ivan has found a kid he likes, and considering he has the 'Power of Friendship' (????), they strike up a friendship, freaking out the protag Elizabeth a bit because she is like 'uh, my nephew is weird, he talks to himself and I'm a career woman who knows nothing about kidsm fml'.
This brings me to my next issue.
o2. Ivan is a stalker.
He watches Elizabeth sleep, eat, follows her around the house, he blows on the back of her neck to see if she feels it. It's just all a little strange. Poor woman must have felt so uncomfortable because she knew there was something going on. He's infatuated with her and when she starts to show signs that she could potentially see or feel him, he just gets obsessed. I didn't get far enough into the story to see how she falls in love with this very odd and problematic 'ghost' but I'm not bothered enough to find out. Maybe he's just haunting her, I don't know, it's probably just a ghost thing.
o3. Elizabeth.
Ugh. Just, ugh. All she does is what I'm doing now - complain. I'm not one for reading someone in a novel just going 'woe is me, my life sucks' and mentioning about 6000 times about her sister and family in general. I'm reading a novel to be entertained and to see people tackle what's making them complain. She's just boring. I can't say I was fond of her, and I can honestly say that I judge for too for falling in love with a fucking ghost that is basically a kid. There's just too many layers of weird and discomfort for me to get into this.
Also, what would it look like if she's kissing an invisible man. I'm cracking up just thinking about it! You've seen Scary Movie 2, right? Oh dear god.
I can't. It's not for me.
worldpastmyeyes's review against another edition
3.0
I didn’t actually understand what was going on until I finished reading the first 3 to 4 chapters. I was expecting a different book when I read the back of the book. But still, I liked the book, in a childish way, it was really different. I feel like we all need Ivan in this complicated world. This book gave me a wide range of emotions. At the end of the book, all I wanted was to cry because at some point, it was unfair. If you’re up for a little bit of fun, adventure and childishness, then this is your book
thebookwormadventures's review against another edition
Didn’t like MC, not a fan of the premise
loulud21's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this book was really interesting and took a new perspective for children and adults. The idea of a woman falling in love with 'her' child's imaginary friend is so odd and yet it really worked!
amycatherineash's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
anujab's review against another edition
4.0
another theme that one can't imagine in real life. the book had loop holes but in the end it was a job well done. :)
flijn's review against another edition
2.0
Not my favourite book by Cecelia Ahern, but still enjoyable.
I didn't like how everything was explained. If you use choice of colour (Elizabeth is an interior designer) as a metaphor for a state of mind, there is no need to clarify that, and certainly not more than once. Another point of citicism: the story was too schematic and lacked a natural flow. What kept me going was mainly her effortless style and my curiosity.
I didn't like how everything was explained. If you use choice of colour (Elizabeth is an interior designer) as a metaphor for a state of mind, there is no need to clarify that, and certainly not more than once. Another point of citicism: the story was too schematic and lacked a natural flow. What kept me going was mainly her effortless style and my curiosity.
sweetjuly_src's review against another edition
3.0
Moving story, though sometimes a bit predictible. Nonetheless, I loved reading it and I cried and laughed through out the story.
sophiewilliams's review against another edition
4.0
Been too long since I last read one of Cecilia Ahern's books. Full of fun and imagination - she puts a different spin on everyday things