Book Review: Stephen Chbosky's Imaginary Friend

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy of Stephen Chbosky’s novel, Imaginary Friend, in exchange for an honest review.

Strange things are happening in the small, Pennsylvania town of Mill Grove. The town has been plagued with missing children spanning over several generations, inspiring urban legends. Kate Reese is escaping an abusive relationship and she decides to make a fresh start for herself and her seven-year-old son, Christopher, in Mill Grove. On the surface, it appears to be an idyllic town, but soon Christopher is swept up in the horrors that have befallen other children of the community. It all begins when Christopher makes an imaginary friend that he names “The Nice Man.”

I love horror and I have never been legitimately freaked out until Imaginary Friend. The horror and graphic imagery is on a level that almost made me quit the book. I’m quite honestly shocked by how much Chbosky’s novel affected my sleep and invaded my imagination. He’s an incredible writer.

Chbosky’s story assaults the reader in multiple ways. He balances intense descriptions that leave little to the imagination, with gaps that allow the reader to imagine the worst. I read that Imaginary Friend is in development to be made into a movie or TV series. I don’t think that I could handle it and I seriously can’t imagine how any visual could match or be worse than what I was creating in my mind. The action, especially in the last half of the story, is virtually non-stop and at a break-neck pace. I kept catching myself holding my breath from the intensity. There are several great plot twists that I did not see coming.

Imaginary Friend is one of the most unexpected books that I have ever read. It’s a roller coaster ride. I think I was caught off-guard primarily because it is so vastly different than Chbosky’s best-selling novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I loved The Perks of Being a Wallflower and was excited to see his much-anticipated follow-up. I’m sure many readers will pick up Imaginary Friend, based on their love for The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and they may be left disappointed. The books are so dissimilar and horror, especially this level of horror, is not going to be everyone’s cup-of-tea. However, it’s awesome that Chbosky wrote a wildly different type of story. He took a risk. He wrote the story that he needed to tell. I have so much respect for him.

My only criticism is that the story felt long. It is long, coming in at around seven-hundred pages. The pacing wasn’t slow, but it was too long to live in that particular story world. It’s a stressful read and I wanted out. It also suffers from a glut of action at the end of the story, pushing Imaginary Friend to continue beyond the point of where it felt like the story should have ended. It was along the lines of an action movie that has one too many explosions or car wrecks, or the horror film when the villain rises from the dead, but in this case, it was several resurrections too many.

This criticism aside, I found Imaginary Friend to be a highly memorable read. Chbosky has a unique voice and a crazy brain for horror writing. You’ll never look at deer the same way. It will also make you reevaluate any imaginary friends that your kids might have at the moment.

It was so darn creepy, that I have the chills just writing this review!

Book Review- Julia Sonneborn's By The Book

Thank you to Gallery Books for providing me with an advance copy of Julia Sonneborn's novel, By The Book, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- Anne followed her dreams instead of her heart, and now in middle-age, she is second guessing her choices. She has a doctorate in English Literature and is teaching at a prestigious liberal-arts college in Southern California, but Anne is stressed. She has an incredible amount of student debt and is on the cusp of losing her job, which is contingent on her securing a publication deal before the end of winter semester.

To complicate matters, Anne's former college boyfriend and former fiance, Adam, has accepted the job as president at Anne's college. Their break-up happened over Anne thinking that she had to choose between love or grad school. The couple's pride prevented them from talking out this misunderstanding and they had spoken since college. 

Can Anne figure out a way to pursue all of her dreams or will her previous bad decisions impact the rest of her life?

LIKE- By The Book is a charming story and quick read. I was drawn to it because it is labeled as a modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. I love Austen and I've read Persuasion, more than once, but I guess I'm not as big of an Austen fan as I thought I was, because the actual story wasn't familiar enough for me to recognize it as a retelling. It did have Austen tones with regard to the relationship between Anne and Adam, their pride getting in the way and the general romantic overtones. The story has a very Austen type of character in Rick, a slick-talking writer that sweeps Anne off her feet, but who is of course, not the man he seems. Rick and Adam have an Austen style stand-off, where they each pursue Anne in their own way, but have a clear disdain for one another. 

Persuasion is brought up in a straight-forward way, as Anne's favorite book, a precious copy is given to her by Adam when they are first dating. Various writers are mentioned, via Anne's love of literature and her profession, so By the Book is made for book-lovers. You'll geek out over the references.

I loved the character of Larry, Anne's best friend at the college. He's the type of best friend that everyone should aspire to have in their lives and to be to others. He's awesome!

By the Book is a fluffy, enjoyable read. It's a great vacation pick, fast-faced and a story that will leave you with a smile on your face. I don't generally favor overly romantic stories, but this hit the right level of romance to melt my heart.

DISLIKE- Not a true dislike, but I need to explain the level of By The Book. I very much enjoyed it, but it's not they type of book that is likely to win-awards or will be life-changing. It's simply an entertaining read and there is nothing wrong with that!

RECOMMEND- Yes! I've already recommend this to a close friend who loves Austen. By the Book is romantic, and sweet story with likable characters.

Book Review- Jacob M. Appel's Millard Salter's Last Day

Thank you to Gallery Books for providing me with a copy of Jacob M. Appel's novel, Millard Salter's Last Day, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- Psychiatrist Millard Salter has decided to kill himself. The love of his life has recently died after an illness and he fears the idea of growing old with the possibility of having a disease or needing assistance. He feels that he has lived enough life and plans to hang himself, while things are still good. With this plan in mind, he spends his last couple of days tying up loose ends. He tries to wrap things up at work and visits with his ex-wife and adult children. He soon learns that leaving might not be as easy as he had anticipated.

LIKE- It took me time to get into the pacing and rhythm of Millard Salter's Last Day, but as soon as I did (last third of the story,) I felt swept away. Appel has created a complicated protagonist in Salter and I felt the weight of his worries and sorrows. Through his characters, Appel makes a strong argument for the need to have assisted suicide and speaks to the trauma of watching a loved one battle through a terminal disease. Salter helps a loved on with assisted suicide, which is described in detail. 

Although Salter is a lauded psychiatrist, his fears and depression create a situation where he justifies ending his life.  I suppose the argument could be made that people should have the freedom to live their lives ( or end their lives) as they see fit, at any stage, but I felt the overriding theme of Millard Salter's Last Day is that Salter's life should not end. His judgement is clouded. The worst of it, is none of the other doctor's at the hospital where he works, even notice that something is wrong. They are too busy trying to get ahead in their careers and dealing with office politics. Salter's family doesn't notice either. It's a sad and unfortunate situation all around, a commentary on how isolated people can feel and how blind we can all be to the suffering of others.

DISLIKE- Millard Salter's Last Day is pitched as a book similar to Frederik Backman's novel, A Man Called Ove. They deal with similar themes; like Salter, Ove is hell-bent on killing himself and finds the leaving process to be more difficult than anticipated. However, that's where the similarities end. Backman's novel has humor and light to breakup the heavy theme. Ove undergoes a huge transformation, where as Salter stays the same. Salter's weak story arc, my primary issue with the story.

I had compassion for Salter, but I found him to be a difficult character to stay with for an entire novel. I couldn't read Millard Salter's Last Day, without reading several other books at the same time. As such, it took me over a month to read, when it should have taken a day or two. As I mentioned previously, it didn't grab me until the last third, the first two-thirds were sluggish.

RECOMMEND- Probably not. Millard Salter's Last Day is heavy. Salter is a solid character, but he  doesn't have a solid story.