Book Review: Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

By georgelthomas on 27 Sep 2024 • ( 0 )

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today is Friday, and it’s time for another review. Today, I am reviewing Stephen Chbosky’s Imaginary Friend.

Imaginary Friend was published in 2019 by Orion and is 720 pages long.

The Plot
The story follows a young boy named Christopher who goes missing in the woods for six days, only to return with a mission from an otherworldly being called ‘The Nice Man’. As Christopher becomes increasingly obsessed with building a treehouse to save his town from impending doom, his mother, Kate, must unravel the mysteries surrounding her son’s disappearance and the dark forces at play.

Characters
Christopher Reese
Christopher Reese is the protagonist of the story. He is a young boy who goes missing for six days in the woods before returning home with no memory of where he has been. Feeling compelled to return to the woods later, Christopher meets an imaginary friend he calls ‘The Nice Man’ who tells him to build a treehouse to save his town from impending darkness.

Throughout the novel, Christopher grapples with his inner demons, such as the loss of his father and escaping his mother’s abusive ex, while trying to navigate the increasingly bizarre events happening around him.

Kate Reese
Kate is Christopher’s mother. She is a single parent who has moved to Mill Grove for a fresh start. Kate struggles to make ends meet but wins the lottery one day due to a miraculous turn of events.

As a loving mother, Kate is fiercely protective of her son and will stop at nothing to keep him safe, and as the story unfolds, she must confront her darkest fears and make difficult choices to protect Christopher from the evil forces at work in their town.

The Nice Man
The Nice Man is Christopher’s imaginary friend, who instructs him to build a treehouse — a boundary between the real and imaginary worlds — so that Christopher might help him stop an evil entity known as ‘The Hissing Lady’ from breaking into Christopher’s world. But, as events develop, Christopher realises things are much worse than he thought.

Sheriff Thompson
The sheriff is one of the first friendly faces Kate and Christopher meet upon arriving in Mill Grove, offering to watch Christopher while Kate goes across the street for a job interview. He is a kind-hearted man who begins a relationship with and falls in love with Kate as they become closer.

Throughout the book, we learn about a past event that still haunts him, an event the story’s malevolent force uses to its own advantage.

Mr and Mrs Collins
Mr Collins is a real estate developer who owns a good portion of Mill Grove, including the retirement home, Shady Pines, where Christopher’s mother starts work soon after moving to town. His wife runs the place militantly to ensure her mother is cared for properly.

Ambrose Olson
Ambrose first meets Christopher at the hospital after he returns from his six days in the woods. He’s nice to Christopher, letting him watch TV with him late at night, and, as it turns out, he lives in the retirement home. His connection to the story deepens when the body of his brother, who disappeared fifty years ago, is found by Christopher on a subsequent visit to the woods.

Mary Katherine MacNeil
Mary Katherine is a devout Catholic teenager who’s just got her driver’s license. Worrying that she’ll be late home and have it taken away by her strict father, she must decide between running a stop sign and getting home on time or stopping and being late. Asking god for help, Mary Katherine feels compelled to hit the brake. That’s when she spots Christopher coming out of the woods, dazed.

Later, Mary Katherine discovers, inexplicably, that she is pregnant, having not done the necessary deed to warrant it, thus finding herself on a downward spiral of panic and despair at the thought of her parents’ reactions.

Writing Style
Chbosky’s writing style is simple yet haunting, drawing you into the world he has created with vivid descriptions and atmospheric prose. His ability to create tension and suspense is brilliant, keeping you guessing about what will happen next as you move through the dark and twisted town of Mill Grove. Each chapter builds wonderfully upon the last, leading to a climax that will leave you breathless and questioning everything that came before.

The book is a genre-bender. It is neither one thing nor the other as Chbosky seamlessly weaves the best elements of horror, fantasy and mystery, creating an exciting reading experience.

In fact, one of the most intriguing aspects of Imaginary Friend is its exploration of themes such as faith, fear, mental illness and redemption. Chbosky delves deep into the psyche of his sprawling list of characters, exploring their innermost fears and desires as they grapple with the unknown forces at play in Mill Grove, making for a lengthy, though nonetheless compelling read.

Final Thoughts
Overall, I enjoyed the book. As I stated earlier, it is rather long, but once you’re in the throws of the story, you forget about that. The story itself was reminiscent of some of Stephen King‘s work (in the best possible way), especially IT, in terms of atmosphere and suspense.

With all that said, it’s a gripping read that will keep you flippin’ pages right through to the end. Chbosky’s skilful writing and masterful storytelling make this a must-read for horror fans, fans of suspense, or just great literature.

I’m giving Imaginary Friend an 8/10.

Have you read Imaginary Friend? What did you think?

As always, thank you for stopping by to read my review!

Until next time,

George