Take a photo of a barcode or cover
wjreadsbooks 's review for:
Imaginary Girls
by Nova Ren Suma
Imaginary Girls is a study of the relationship between two sisters, Chloe and Ruby. Ruby is the older sister, the one whom everyone in their little town looks up to. Girls want to be friends with Ruby and boys just want to be with Ruby. As far as Chloe can remember, it's been that way forever in her town and Ruby's the girl that she's looked up ever since she was young. But one summer everything goes wrong and Chloe ends up discovering the dead body of her schoolmate, London. That night scars her and she soon leaves town to stay with her father instead but she's never quite forgotten about her sister or about the night that changed everything.
Now two years later, Ruby has come for Chloe again and when Ruby calls, Chloe returns back to their old town. And it seems like everything has stayed the same, Ruby is still idolised and loved by all. However, Ruby has been hiding a secret from Chloe all these years, a secret that lies at the heart of what really happened that night and what Ruby is truly capable of.
The only other book by Nova Ren Suma that I'd previously read was [b:17 & Gone|13132403|17 & Gone|Nova Ren Suma|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345572427s/13132403.jpg|18308775] and to be frank, I didn't enjoy that book at all. But the storyline of Imaginary Girls seemed interesting and I was definitely intrigued by the relationship between Chloe and Ruby. When you're young, it's so easy to see those older than you as being your role models and worthy of admiration and respect. That's precisely the relationship that Chloe has with her older sister, only that this sort of adoration of Ruby extends towards the entire town. There's just something magic about Ruby, something about having her attention that makes them want to do crazy things for and something about her behavior that just attracts everyone in their town. And it all seems to come effortlessly for Ruby, she's never had to earn any of that love or attention. All Ruby seems to do is to exist.
Nova Ren Suma writes beautifully in this book, with a somewhat dreamy prose that captures both the town's obsession with Ruby as well as Ruby's obsession with the town of Olive, a town where people had chosen to drown rather than to leave. Ruby seems to truly believe that this town existed and it's the sole paranormal element in this otherwise realistic novel. And while magic realism isn't usually a genre that I've really enjoyed, the author makes the book so relatable and interesting that I can't help but to keep on reading and to be enthralled in Ruby's path as well. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next and what Ruby was going to do.
It's pretty clear that Ruby is the star of the novel, the character that will stay with me long after I've read other books. Chloe, the main character, fades more into the backdrop but she serves as a placeholder for us readers. What starts as a sense of unease when Chloe returns to town soon develops into a greater awareness of how much Ruby truly loves her and the limits of what Ruby's love for her can do. The final twist at the end was bittersweet and even though Chloe's not the strongest or most interesting protag around, I ended up feeling for her situation and for how her relationship with Ruby has shaped her personality.
I'm honestly surprised that [b:17 & Gone|13132403|17 & Gone|Nova Ren Suma|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345572427s/13132403.jpg|18308775] has a higher average rating as compared to Imaginary Girls because of how much stronger I found the latter book to be! I think that Nova Ren Suma definitely has a great of talent and I hope that her future books would be more in the vein of Imaginary Girls!
Now two years later, Ruby has come for Chloe again and when Ruby calls, Chloe returns back to their old town. And it seems like everything has stayed the same, Ruby is still idolised and loved by all. However, Ruby has been hiding a secret from Chloe all these years, a secret that lies at the heart of what really happened that night and what Ruby is truly capable of.
The only other book by Nova Ren Suma that I'd previously read was [b:17 & Gone|13132403|17 & Gone|Nova Ren Suma|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345572427s/13132403.jpg|18308775] and to be frank, I didn't enjoy that book at all. But the storyline of Imaginary Girls seemed interesting and I was definitely intrigued by the relationship between Chloe and Ruby. When you're young, it's so easy to see those older than you as being your role models and worthy of admiration and respect. That's precisely the relationship that Chloe has with her older sister, only that this sort of adoration of Ruby extends towards the entire town. There's just something magic about Ruby, something about having her attention that makes them want to do crazy things for and something about her behavior that just attracts everyone in their town. And it all seems to come effortlessly for Ruby, she's never had to earn any of that love or attention. All Ruby seems to do is to exist.
Nova Ren Suma writes beautifully in this book, with a somewhat dreamy prose that captures both the town's obsession with Ruby as well as Ruby's obsession with the town of Olive, a town where people had chosen to drown rather than to leave. Ruby seems to truly believe that this town existed and it's the sole paranormal element in this otherwise realistic novel. And while magic realism isn't usually a genre that I've really enjoyed, the author makes the book so relatable and interesting that I can't help but to keep on reading and to be enthralled in Ruby's path as well. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next and what Ruby was going to do.
It's pretty clear that Ruby is the star of the novel, the character that will stay with me long after I've read other books. Chloe, the main character, fades more into the backdrop but she serves as a placeholder for us readers. What starts as a sense of unease when Chloe returns to town soon develops into a greater awareness of how much Ruby truly loves her and the limits of what Ruby's love for her can do.
Spoiler
Reading about Chloe's slow realization that Ruby has somehow manipulated reality so as to make London seem alive in their little town was creepy and chill-inducing.I'm honestly surprised that [b:17 & Gone|13132403|17 & Gone|Nova Ren Suma|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345572427s/13132403.jpg|18308775] has a higher average rating as compared to Imaginary Girls because of how much stronger I found the latter book to be! I think that Nova Ren Suma definitely has a great of talent and I hope that her future books would be more in the vein of Imaginary Girls!