Imaginary Friend - Stephen Chbosky

Imaginary Friend

By Stephen Chbosky

  • Release Date: 2019-10-01
  • Genre: Horror
Score: 4 (From 285 Ratings)

Description

From a New York Times bestselling author, a young boy is haunted by a voice in his head in this "epic horror" novel, perfect for fans of Stephen King (Dan Chaon, author of Ill Will).

Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her seven year-old son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night. At first, the tight-knit community of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania seems like the perfect place to finally settle down. Then Christopher vanishes. Days later, he 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.

One of The Year's Best Books (People, EW, Lithub, Vox, Washington Post, and more)

Reviews

  • Starts Intensely; Falls Off Later

    By vivamarisa
    I really wanted to like this book and heard rave reviews about it. I don’t often DNF books, but this was the first one ever. The book has a very interesting concept and a quick and engrossing pace in the first two acts, but quickly became a chore for me to read. I’m not sure how I’d propose the author change the plot in the latter half of the story, but something about how the information was revealed left me extremely disappointed. Only completed 80%.

  • Enthusiastically invested….to disappointed.

    By dragongal116
    Not pleased with the ending. Would be an excellent book without the last bit of obtrusive Christian narrative.

  • Religious Undertones Ruined It

    By jdemmitt27
    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

    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

    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...

    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

    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.

    By AwesomeChelso
    Amazing. Crazy!!

  • The unexpected impactq

    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.

    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.

Comments

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