I am not entirely sure how to start this review or how great this review will end up being, because I have no idea what I even read. I say that in the best way possible though, because Imaginary Friend was INSANE, but so good! It was crazy and it kept me on the edge of my seat on every 700+ page! It was weird and it was creepy. I had dreams about this book multiple times throughout reading it. I had no idea what was happening or what the outcome would be and it drove me crazy, haha. I was trying to figure out what was going to happen next and I just couldn’t. I was constantly surprised and hit with so many feels. I shed a lot of tears while reading this story as well as every other feeling you can imagine. The love between Christopher and his mom was everything. I don’t want to say a whole lot, because I don’t want to spoil even the smallest thing. I would highly recommend picking up Imaginary Friend. I know I will be thinking about this book for a really long time.

"Imaginary Friend" by Stephen Chbosky was the perfectly creepy and spooky, great for the Halloween season! .

3.5 stars!!

I’ll start out by saying, that that I loooved the first half of this bohemoth of a book. I absolutely adored Stephen Chbosky’s novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, so you can imagine my excitement over his newest release. He has the most beautifully written, well developed characters and his writing really is amazing!

I just floundered a bit while reading, and felt myself slowly start to back out of the original feels I had for this book. It’s definitely atmospheric and chilling, and I loved the idea of Good vs Evil throughout, but I also had so many questions. I don’t want to risk revealing anything, so the less I say here is probably better.

I’d love to chat though if you’ve read this one! I also had the chance to listen to this on audio, and it was incredible.

*Thank you to the publisher, netgalley, and Libro.fm for the gifted copy for review. All opinions are my own

IMAGINARY FRIEND
Stephen Chbosky
Grand Central Publishing
ISBN 978-1-5387-3133-8
Hardcover
Thriller/Horror

No one will ever accuse author Stephen Chbosky of attempting to flood the market. Chbosky’s first novel, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, was published some twenty years ago and is a classic in every sense of the world. While Chbosky has not been idle since then --- he is an accomplished screenwriter --- he hasn’t been ripping out novels every year, or even every decade, since then, either. When word first circulated that he had a new novel titled IMAGINARY FRIEND ready for publication there was a great deal of anticipation. Now that IMAGINARY FRIEND has made its appearance, we learn that it has little in common with its predecessor. PERKS was a relatively short novel, while IMAGINARY FRIEND exceeds seven hundred pages without a bit of waste. PERKS was literary fiction, while IMAGINARY FRIEND straddles the genre lines of thriller, horror, and fantasy. While PERKS made the reader happy and sad, IMAGINARY FRIEND keeps readers on the edge of their seats while scaring the heck out of them. The books do have a couple of things in common, however, in addition to their author. One is that both in their very different ways are coming-of-age-novels. The other is that IMAGINARY FRIEND, like PERKS, is a superlative work which is not quite like anything you have read before.

IMAGINARY FRIEND starts out sedately but with a low thrum of tension. Following a haunting vignette occurring a half-century in the past we meet Christopher Reese, who is all of seven and one-half years old, and Kate, his mother. The two of them are newly arrived in a small town in Pennsylvania which is all but off the map. That arrival is by design, the result of Kate doing a stage left exit in the middle of the night out of an abusive relationship. She finds a job in due course while Christopher adapts to being the new kid in school, slowly and not without some growing pains. That he is saddled with some difficult learning disabilities does not make his life any easier, but his encounters with the school bullies are balanced by his friendships with three other boys. Christopher’s life takes a markedly positive turn when he develops a friendship with someone he refers to as “the nice man.” Christopher goes from remedial classes to advanced reading and math, and suddenly life becomes much better for his mom as well. Life is suddenly very, very good for Kate and Christopher Reese, who have established a peaceful life in a quiet town. What this is, however, is Chbosky setting up the chess pieces before lighting the board on fire. The nice man needs Christopher’s help with something, that something being a someone known as “the hissing lady.” Only Christopher and the nice man can see her --- at least at first --- but what is a contest between the nice man and the hissing lady turns into an all-out war that will involve the town and points elsewhere. When I say “war,” I mean war. Think of IMAGINARY FRIEND as a roller coaster ride, with the first half or so being relatively sedate until the track crests the top and starts downward, which is when the breaks give out and the riders realize that a good twenty feet of the rail are missing. Then things get difficult.

Maybe I’ve said too much. Don’t be surprised, however, if your copy of IMAGINARY FRIEND bursts into flame of its own accord at some point. It’s a parable, a retelling of the world’s oldest story, and a blasphemy, perhaps, to some. It corkscrews its way to an ending that you won’t expect but which is all the better for it. Save lots of time for IMAGINARY FRIEND. You’ll need it and want it.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
(c) Copyright 2019, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2019, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

This might just be one of the creepiest books I've ever read. This book reminds me so much of Tommyknockers and Needful Things. It centers on a few characters heavily, while also focusing on the town itself and its dynamics. As the story progresses, there is more and more tension and unease, which is my favorite kind of story! The book was definitely long (and maybe the ending scenes could have been trimmed a little) but overall this book was wonderfully creepy and engaging.

A very literary take on the horror genre. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, it had been a long time since I read Perks but his prose is still lively. I felt like the children should have been slightly older to make for a more compelling story, there were some limits do to age. The book was also very long. I felt like it could have been wrapped up in 2/3 of the time.

So, wow, lots to unpack with this one. I’ve never read Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower which was the book that really put him on the map, but I’m familiar enough with it to know Imaginary Friend is quite a departure. Like everyone else, I dove into this one with no clue as to what to expect, though the synopsis gave some hints.

It’s a horror story, obviously. Mostly following central characters Kate Reese and her son Christopher, Imaginary Friend begins with the two of them settling in the small town of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. Kate has been on the run for a long time; after the death of her husband, she fell into a relationship with a man who turned out to be abusive and has been trying to get away from him since. It is her hope that Mill Grove would be the start of a new life for both her and seven-year-old Christopher.

But then came a nightmare for any parent. Christopher goes missing, and for one terrifying week, Kate is beside herself with fear and worry. Against all odds though, the boy is eventually found alive and well, describing a harrowing escape that was only made possible by a nice man he met in the woods. While this mysterious man was never found, the only thing that mattered to Kate was that her son was back safe and sound. And miraculously, he seemed even better than before. Christopher begins excelling in school, making a lot of new friends. Kate also wins the lottery, allowing her to move them into a new house and pay off her debts. Life was as good as it could be.

However, unbeknownst to Kate, Christopher has been going through a lot of changes. There are the headaches, which he seems to get all the time now. And then there are the thoughts that just come to him, allowing him to know things he shouldn’t know, or to do things that shouldn’t be possible. He also starts seeing an “imaginary friend” in the woods where he was found after his disappearance, telling him to do things. And one of his friend’s first instructions to Christopher? Build an elaborate treehouse, right there in the middle of the woods, and it is of utmost importance that it is completed before Christmas, or else bad things will come to everyone Christopher knows and loves.

Based on many of the themes found in Imaginary Friend—like that of the power of boyhood friendships or the presence of skewed religious allusions, creeping plague, small town paranoia and hysteria, and a cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil—it seems rather clear to me that Chbosky was influenced heavily by the work of Stephen King. But I had to wonder, did he really have to emulate the man’s tendency for wordiness as well? Sitting at over 700 pages, a novel of such length is certain to cause me to give it the old side-eye, leaving me skeptical that the story actually has to be this long. And sure enough, by 25% I knew was one I’d have to tag team with the audiobook, as it was proving much too long-winded for me to cope with and I didn’t want to spend weeks forcing myself to pick it up. By 50%, I was starting to feel the brunt of the fatigue, even when tackling it in both print and audio formats. And at 75% I was asking myself holy fucking crap why isn’t this damn thing over yet?

Let’s be clear, this wasn’t a wholly bad novel, but man, if I had been the editor, I would’ve taken a chainsaw to this bad boy and hacked away all the repetition and extraneous, unnecessary detail to get it down to a more reasonable and readable length. Still, if you’re possessed of a strong mental resolve and iron determination, you should be able to disregard the blatant overwriting and enjoy some of the book’s more memorable moments and highlights. Yes, parts of it are actually pretty good, and those who picked up this book for the mystery and paranormal creep factor will also get a good dose of both. Yet for the most part, its cumbersome length and the rambling nature of the story severely impacted my enjoyment. It seemed the more the author added to the plot, the more complicated and chaotic it became, without delivering any real answers.

I hate being so negative, because Chbosky plainly put a lot of his heart and effort into writing Imaginary Friend, and there are enough strong points for me not to pan it completely. But on the whole, this simply came across as an overblown, very self-indulgent novel that could have been edited down—by a lot. In fact, that’s my biggest regret after reading this—that without the tedious, confusing and dragging parts, this book could have been great and needn’t have been such a chore to read. I say check out the novel if you’re a horror buff or if you’re curious to see what it’s all about, but just be prepared for the patience and time investment it demands.

I really must commend all the readers and reviewers that read and loved this book. I am at 81% right now and have the most incredible headache from reading this tome! I don't know what is pushing me more -the fact that I can't 'not' finish an ARC? That everyone else loved it and I am really disliking it? That I have more questions than the book has answered?

My problems are many:

Firstly, I am a Baby Boomer and that means my favorite horror writers will always be Stephen King, Robert McCammon and those of that ilk. I am not averse to reading new horror authors if they can be unique. When a modern author tries to do what they (the original kings of the horror genre) did and can't do it well and I can see it in the first 100 pages or so, it does not bode well.

Secondly, I have issues with some of the, well for lack of a better term, the time period. It is supposed to be (I am assuming) modern times. But some of the things the author talks such as Special Education, Floods or High Waters for pants, or amazement at a school having a computer lab rings of the entire book being written back in the '70s, not just the first few chapters which do take place in the '50s.

Thirdly, many many characters and more than I could keep straight as well as the different...er...dimensions, moods, evil people and what-not. I also had a lot of problems relating these characters to 7-year-olds.

Lastly, The usage of capitalization in the middle of words is unique and is what finally brought this migraine on. It, in my opinion, is extremely difficult to read in this manner, but I can see why the author wants us to read these parts with difficulty. A bad move -he could have used italics but I'm not the author.

IF I finally finish the entire book and I change my mind about any of this I'll let you know.

*ARC supplied by the publisher.

This book.... THIS BOOK. I never read Perks of Being a Wallflower but what I do know is that this author went to a completely different genre with this young adult horror fiction read. Is it worth every 700+ page? You bet your ass it is.

To begin with, the main character's name is Christopher Reese - this made it somewhat sentimental to me because my family became very close with the Reese family when we lived in Italy. Their youngest was their son, Christopher who became a brother to me over the years and somehow that made this is a bit sentimental to me. Both have a strong relationship with their mothers and both are the best and sweetest boys. Listen, if you can find something in your real life that anchors you to the fictional life in the book you're reading, it absolutely makes a difference.

There were also a couple of incidents that truly reminded me of my childhood. Being pulled under a bed (or that feeling that something or someone was under there) was always a nightmare for me as a child (and once I woke up halfway under the bed, so yeah...) and that creepy ice cream truck jingle... UFF. Both are mentioned and just grabbed that inner child within me all the more. Even to this day, when the many ice cream trucks roam my neighbor at the weirdest night time hours, it still makes my blood turn cold.

I feel really sorry for all the Perks of Being a Wallflower fans who are going to run out and grab this book. They are nothing alike! But that doesn't make this a bad book, just a very very different book. And, from my reading, it was almost two completely different books in itself. I was so pulled in by the quirky characters, the budding friendships, the terrific mother-son relationship. Gosh, the first 60% or so was an amazing book! I loved how Mr. Chbosky would inject a bit of humor to balance out the scariness. I was telling my husband about parts. I was basking in the great writing and character building that didn't feel dragged out. And then, BAM! I hit what was the climax of the book and still had 40% of the book to go. And go. And go. And go. And it went and it got weird. Very religious and biblical and rapture end of the world feeling. It was an incredible let down after such a magnificent start.

“A nightmare is nothing but a dream gone sick.”

Where do I even begin when it comes to the release of this (20 year) long awaited tome? I guess the easiest thing to do is address the obvious. For those of you who have been anticipating a new Perks to fall in love with, I have some bad news.

There is no Charlie to be had here. Instead, there is a Christopher. A little boy who recently moved to small-town Pennsylvania with his mother when she escaped from an abusive relationship. A little boy who disappeared for six days into the Mission Street Woods and returned – safe . . . but different. A little boy who used to see words as nothing but jumbled letters, but now can ace a quiz in less than a minute. A little boy who has the ability to change his mother’s financial status. A little boy who has to get a treehouse built before it’s too late . . . .

“DEATH IS COMING! DEATH IS HERE! WE’LL DIE ON CHRISTMAS DAY!”

^That sucks. I love Christmas. Today begins the official one-month countdown until I can begin Clark Griswalding up the house.

I’m going to do things a little differently here when it comes to this review. I’m going to talk about some stuff I didn’t like (while still giving this a pretty high rating).

#1. Here is one of my Kindle notes . . . .

“This has to end by midnight and there are still 200 pages left. Yikes.”

You are going to hear a lot of talk about how this book is waaaaaaay too long. Because it is. Like 350 pages too long.

#2. Has Stephen Chbotsky ever even met a seven year old? You already have to be able to suspend disbelief in order for a group of kids to be building a McMansion of a treehouse complete with a locking door, shutters, glass windows and a trapdoor with a rope ladder, but JFC - seven???? Not only are these kids better at flipping treehouses than Chip and Joanna Gaines, but they are also pros at sneaking out of the house – they aren’t afraid of the dark and scary woods – they curse like sailors and can’t wait for the chance to see some nekkid titties on Showtime.

#3. There are a lot of things that will call to mind to another recent(ish) release. Between the concerned mother, and the local sheriff haunted by his own demons, and Charlie’s “headaches," and the imaginary side . . . .

But hey, at least those things aren’t similar to a freaking worldwide phenomenon with a ginormous fanbase, right????

Oh, wait.

So why the high rating?

#1. For not only having the balls to not just barf out book after book after book on the heels of his first success, but to release something completely different than that megahit all these years later.

#2. For the fact that despite all of my gripes, I read this puppy squisher in two days. Obviously it held my interest.

#3. For the ending. The ending is excellent. Unlike some other megafamous authors who shall remain nameless, but have a tendency to shit the bed in horror stories that wrap up with things like giant alien spiders or . . . giant ants.

#4. Ambrose . . . .

Y’all know I have old lady brain, but I won’t be forgetting Ambrose any time soon.

Endless thanks to Grand Central Publishing for offering me an early copy of this title in exchange for my honest review. This will remain in a prime location on the shelf.

I was thrilled to see a new novel by Stephen Chbosky after loving the Perks of Being a Wallflower and I was not disappointed. Imaginary Friend is very different from his first novel but definitely worth a read. Kate, along with her son Christopher, is on the run from an abusive relationship and finds a nice place to settle in. Everything seems to be going well until Christopher disappears for several days. Thankfully he is found but it is quickly realized that he is not the same. What happened to him while he was gone and is he hearing voices now? What follows is a fight for their lives. It's creepy, it's dark and it's beautifully written. This is definitely a well written book that keeps you on the edge of your seat. A young adult horror novel that is very engaging. Highly recommend! Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

At it's heart this is an epic tale of good versus evil.

"Make me hit a deer"

Something lies dormant in Mills Grove until Christopher and his mother arrive. Years ago, a terrified child went missing from his own home. Nobody believed him that the monsters were real. Now Christopher has gone missing too, but he is returned.. changed...seeing more...knowing more... wise beyond his years and paying the price for his new abilities.

"We'll all die on Christmas day!"

As Christopher becomes more aware of what's happening, something insidious is also aware of Christopher and it's infecting the town with evil. I loved the spooky atmosphere in this book, the way the characters were fleshed out and brought to life. I even at certain points had sympathy for the bullies.

Stephen Chbosky took me on a crazy ride with this book! I knew it would be creepy after reading the synopsis, but I can honestly say I did not predict the direction this book took. For a 700-page book, it reads quickly so don't be too intimidated by its size. I was hooked from the beginning. This book has everything - supernatural, good vs. evil, gore, the importance of a mother's love - the works. I really like Chbosky's writing style and the way he used formatting to highlight certain points or emphasize the importance of a topic. Christopher's mother, Kate Reese, was my favorite character. She was an amazing woman who overcame a lifetime of abuse in order to be the best mother for her child. She would have given up everything she had to protect her son.

I do have to say, the age of Christopher and his friends was a little unbelievable. The boys are supposed to be seven years old; however, their dialogue and actions in the story were too mature for that age. I have a five year old son and can't imagine him communicating the way the children in this book did any time soon. I think it would made more sense to age the boys around 11-12, but at the same time Christopher needed to be young enough to still see his mother through the innocent eyes of a younger child. So I'm torn on my own opinion there. The book could probably have been cut down closer to 500 pages, there seemed to be a lot of fluff near the end.

It is tough to fully review this book without giving spoilers, but I will say this - there is a theme of God vs. The Devil in this book that I believe Chbosky executed perfectly. He captured the pure evil of The Devil in a way that I haven't seen before and I applaud him for that.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it was the perfect way to kickstart my October reading.

I would like to thank Grand Central Publishing for sending me a free copy of this book.

I loved Chbosky's writing. Only knowing him for the sensitive and heartfelt Perks Of Being A Wallflower, I knew he could write, but his writing shines in this horror novel. The rising action takes many turns and delivers a satisfying end to a masterful tale.

This is frankly just too long. I don't mind a bit of a door stopper, but this book should have been considerably shorter. The writing is good and so it the story, but it dragged on, which took away from my enjoyment, unfortunately.

Stephen Chbosky penned one of the books that changed me as a teenager. His short novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is one of my favorite books of all time. It had a monumental impact on me when I read it for the first time, and it still does every time I reread it (at least once a year, maybe more). It’s a really important story to me.

So, when I heard that he was coming out with another book after 20 years, I knew I wanted to get my hands on it. I hastily preordered a signed copy and awaited October 1st. But then.

I got an email with an approved digital advanced readers copy! My excitement was so, so high. I truly could not believe I’d been approved for this one. I started reading it that very same day.

I tell you all of this so you understand how much I anticipated loving this book; so that you know that I went into this with only the intent to love it. This hadn’t been hyped up for me and I skipped my usual activity of reading some reviews before starting so that I wouldn’t no what I was going into. I wanted to give Stephen Chbosky’s new book my undivided attention.

And yet… I didn’t love this.

I’m just going to go ahead and get this statement out of the way: this is just too long. I read an interview with Chbosky where he stated that even though it’s 720 pages, every single page earned its place. And I know that, to him, that is very true. Only he knows the vision he had for this book. But to me? This could’ve been a good 200 pages shorter. Maybe even 300, honestly.

The first 20-30% of the book is all exposition. Now, I love a well developed story… but I felt like even with all of the time the book took to build up what was going on, there was still so much confusion. It’s a horror/mystery book, so obviously the reader can’t be let in on all of the details just yet. But if you spend 200 pages completely in the dark about absolutely everything and get 0 information in the process… it starts to drag a little. As a reader, you’re ready for the action; the climax; the big reveal.

Even when this gets to the big reveal, there is still so much left to this story. It was a good plot twist though, I’ll give it that. Chbosky did not a write a predictable plot (in my opinion). I was caught off guard and excited at the new direction the story was going in. But it went there for like… another 200 or so pages.

To be entirely honest, the length of the book was really what took away from some of my enjoyment, because I actually liked everything else for the most part. There were definitely some crude things that I didn’t feel like added to the story or the development (like the constant use of a mean nickname for one of the children who has a learning disability) that I could’ve gone without, though.

The story follows an assortment of characters, all in the same town, and all effected by the imaginary world in some way. It wasn’t always very clear how they all tied together until much later, but I enjoyed getting to read what was going on with people other than just Christopher. He’s the central part of the story, yes, but there are a lot of other key players in this book.

I also really enjoyed the spooky factor in this. It wasn’t so intense that it gave me nightmares but it was sufficiently creepy enough to have me looking over my shoulder while reading. I think that, for the most part, the plot came together at the end, but there were a couple things that I felt like could’ve been explained a little bit better.

Symbolism is a huge part of this story and Chbosky did a pretty good job working it all into the plot without giving everything away. There were some things I started to notice as I read, but I still couldn’t figure out what was going on. It was just obvious that there were specific things that readers are supposed to pay special attention to.

I wasn’t expecting any of the religious stuff that was tied into this story but I didn’t mind it. I honestly didn’t know that supernatural elements would play such a big part in this so I was definitely caught by surprise even from the first page. This is more supernatural than it is anything else. With that being said, I maintained my suspension of disbelief throughout the whole story, which I think is very noteworthy and worth appraisal to an author in books like this.

Another thing that I really want to say about this book is that it is absolutely nothing like The Perks of Being a Wallflower and that is OK! Since finishing this, I have read so many reviews who gave this a low rating with statements like, “I don’t normally like horror stories but I love Chbosky so I wanted to try this anyways”. I totally get why so many people wanted to read his new book even though they are not interested in the genre, but it kind of upsets me that they went into it comparing it to TPOBAW. The plot is very clearly so different, and the writing was absolutely nothing like his prose in TPOBAW.

I didn’t love this book. I liked it and I enjoyed the plot, but this was definitely not a new favorite. However, I came to this conclusion based entirely on only this reading experience. If I were to go into this expecting a story like TPOBAW, this would’ve been a monumental let down. But instead, I went into it expecting an adult horror book from an author who wrote a book that I love wholeheartedly. I didn’t compare the two, because they are so far from each other that I think it would be unfair. Basically, what I’m saying is, don’t read this expecting it feel like the same experience you had with TPOBAW. It is an entirely different book, in an entirely different genre, with an entirely different writing style. The stories could not be less alike! I love horror books and creepy plots, so that was fine by me. Just keep that in mind if you decide to pick this one up!

In conclusion, this was a pretty average read for me overall. I enjoyed the plot but feel like it would’ve benefited from different pacing. If you’re a Stephen King fan, and you like horror stories or even just supernatural stories, this could be a really good read for you. It’s very Stephen King-esque.

Overall I would give this book 4 stars. Early on in the book, it was scary and page turning. I just couldn’t put it down. As the story progresses though, I felt the descriptions in many of the scenes were a bit wordy and unnecessary. It really seemed to bog the book down a bit. I do feel that this was an enjoyable read with enough spook factor that at times I was a little afraid to read it at night for fear of having nightmares. I do look forward to reading this again and will recommend this to other readers.

I received a complimentary advanced digital galley of IMAGINARY FRIEND. Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the chance to read and provide an honest review!

I only very recently read and reviewed PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, so it was very much in my head when I saw that Stephen Chbosky had a new book coming out. While I knew that this was an abrupt departure from the author's first book, I was thrilled to get approved on Netgalley for the digital ARC as this book sounded right up my alley.

In IMAGINARY FRIEND, the central character is Christopher. He and his mother have just moved into Mill Grove, leaving behind his mother's abusive boyfriend. It seems like an ideal location to settle down until Christopher disappears for six days. When he returns he seems to be unharmed, but he is definitely not the same. Christopher is compelled by a voice in his head to build a tree house in the woods and it all must be done by Christmas Day or something terrible will happen.

This is a very difficult review to write because there is so much I would like to say that crosses over into the territory of spoilers. I was very happy that I was reading this along with a great buddy read group on Instagram because this is a book with a lot going on and a lot to unpack and discuss. This is a great pick for book clubs and buddy reads!

The book started off very strong for me. While it is a 700+ page tome, it read very quickly especially in the beginning. Chbosky does an amazing job of building the eerie suspense. This is a novel that caries with it a lot of IT vibes for me, kids going up against an evil that they are singularly capable of fighting against and seeing things that are unknown to the adult world around them. There are many mysteries going on which leave you flipping pages to find out what is going on.

This book gets a lot of credit for me for providing the creeps and chills I was looking for, but there were some things that I didn't care for. I didn't go into this book expecting the book to be so heavily religious. Also, the ending felt a bit drawn out and it left me a little underwhelmed as well.

I really am glad that I was able to read this book and I do recommend it if you are looking for a chilling fall read. It definitely gives a different spin on the countdown to Christmas, so it's perfect for the fall and the end of the year!

This review will be posted as follows (links to be provided once posts go live):

Blog - dgreads.home.blog on 10/1/2019 with a link posted simultaneously to Twitter (@dg90247)

Instagram - an abbreviated version will also be posted to Instagram on 10/1/2019

Amazon & Barnes&Noble reviews will be posted upon publication.

I'm not typically a horror reader, so I wanted to read this purely based on Chbosky's name recognition. This book grabbed me and sucked me in immediately, and I read the 720 page tome in three days. I needed to know what was happening to these characters. I was invested in the protagonist Christopher and his mother, and I enjoyed exploring the various characters in the town. I sped through the first 75% of this book, which is around the time Chbosky drops the most significant plot twist. There were some hints dropped here and there about what was coming, but I was hoping that I was wrong and Chbosky was going to surprise me. I think religious themes can be used really well in horror when they help create feelings of fear and unease. However, the "imaginary world is Hell" reveal was just too easy. After this point, I was far less interested, and I found myself speed reading the rest of the book. When Chbosky revealed what was going on in the town, he over-explained it, and then the horror element was lost, and the book started to feel too much like Christian fiction. The ending dragged on for too long. It could have easily been pared down to fifty pages instead of two hundred. Overall, it was a solid read, despite the disappointing ending.