Imaginary Friend - Stephen Chbosky

Imaginary Friend

By Stephen Chbosky

  • Release Date: 2019-10-01
  • Genre: Horror
4 Score: 4 (From 266 Ratings)
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Description

Instant New York Times Bestseller
One of Fall 2019's Best Books (People, EW, Lithub, Vox, Washington Post, and more)
A young boy is haunted by a voice in his head in this acclaimed epic of literary horror from the author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Christopher is seven years old.Christopher is the new kid in town.Christopher has an imaginary friend.
We can swallow our fear or let our fear swallow us.
Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night with her child. Together, they find themselves drawn to the tight-knit community of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. It's as far off the beaten track as they can get. Just one highway in, one highway out.
At first, it seems like the perfect place to finally settle down. Then Christopher vanishes. For six long days, no one can find him. Until Christopher emerges from the woods at the edge of town, unharmed but not unchanged. He returns with a voice in his head only he can hear, with a mission only he can complete: Build a treehouse in the woods by Christmas, or his mother and everyone in the town will never be the same again.
Twenty years ago, Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower made readers everywhere feel infinite. Now, Chbosky has returned with an epic work of literary horror, years in the making, whose grand scale and rich emotion redefine the genre. Read it with the lights on.

Reviews

  • Religious Undertones Ruined It

    2
    By imjustapersonal
    I really tried to like this book because the premise is such a classic thriller/horror feel but this was such a drag to read. It was body horror and religious undertones for half the book and it was nice at first but it got overdone very very quickly. By the last 100 pages or so I was ready to be done with this book. It had maybe 1 or 2 actually good horror moments that left me a bit nervous but besides that it’s sub par for a horror novel.

  • A must read

    5
    By mlack95
    Absolutely stunning. This book had me gripping the edge of my seat for dear life. Cannot recommend it enough.

  • Didn’t love the ending

    2
    By Yogiohgop
    This book was good open to the point it got to gospel I didn’t know that’s where this book was going to turn I wouldn’t have read it if I had known I mean it’s OK very unrealistic but also left a lot a holes in the story

  • Save yourself...

    2
    By PracticalGrammar
    According to the Apple Books review, Imaginary Friend “feels like a literary event.” If that’s the case, it’s not an event that I’m happy to have attended. I feel browbeaten. The narrative was convoluted. The religious overtones felt proselytizing. The characters were poorly developed. (Yes, Christopher is a nice enough kid, but G(g)odworthy?) I wanted to stop reading this book every minute I was reading it, but I’m compelled to complete books I’ve paid to read. I had sincere hopes for an ending that made this read worthwhile, but sadly the ending was as disappointing as the entire tedious book.

  • Major ‘Stranger Things’ vibe

    3
    By AshleyHelms
    If I were you, I’d wait for the Netflix series they’re surely going to make. This gives me major ‘stranger things’ vibes. Took way too long to read, the ending is somewhat anti climactic.

  • Must read.

    5
    By AwesomeChelso
    Amazing. Crazy!!

  • The unexpected impactq

    5
    By shannster12
    This book will have an unexpected and impactful influence on your life. Read this book without any preconceived notions and the truth will hit you, as it hit me. I did not really know what I was getting when I purchased this book (honestly, impulsively in October 2019 on a plane because of a “glitch” with a free Amazon book. I was looking for something spooky and interesting, and I got more. I got a thought provoking, intriguing storyline, with characters I fell in love with - the good and the bad. The ending is shocking, but it is not once you read the entire story, and then view it from 5,000 miles. This author did a great job, and we need more of these novels. Please keep writing. Looking forward to another jaw-dropping, can’t stop talking about it, book.

  • Honestly, disappointed.

    2
    By Ninja Moe
    The premise was extremely exciting, lot of good going for it. Though, I felt it dragged on more than I’d like. The ending was very disappointing as well, unfortunately.

  • Don’t Bother

    2
    By CBuening
    Ok- This was a good story in the first half, but becomes much to biblical, repetitive and convoluted by the last few hundred pages that I almost had to ditch it (and I almost NEVER ditch a book, even if it’s bad). Such a shame that a good idea and beginning storyline had to loose its way like it did. Would love to see a total re-write!? What happened here?

  • This is a sermon

    1
    By Portia1001
    Ok if you’re expecting to be flogged with the author’s religious beliefs over the last 400 pages. If you’re not, it’s an engaging read that abruptly devolves into an overly long sermon. I wouldn’t be irritated if I’d known what I was buying before I paid for it.

Comments

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