This was such a splendid book, with a really original story. I loved the return of an imaginary friend (George) in Jacks time of need.
Family friendly, heart warming, funny, and original. A great story that highlights important topics like mental health, and loneliness.

At eleven years old, Jack thinks he has outgrown his imaginary friend, George. But when his family starts to fall apart and leave him at his aunt and uncles house, Jack believes only George can help him find his parents and bring them back together.
After losing his best friend, the imaginary George starts to disappear piece by piece. Worried about what that might mean he goes on a mission to win him back or find a new family who believe in him.

This pleasantly written story contained a nice balance between fun, magic and how kids experience and cope with life. I really enjoyed reading it and my remarks are from an adult's POV, because I don't think the aimed age group would notice that there are some minor inconsistencies or that some things could have been worked out a bit more elaborate, like why George could move objects in the real world after being reunited and not when they first became friend... It felt a bit like a missed chance, but then again I'm adult and not a 10 year old.

I don't know that kids would really enjoy this book. It was kind of hard to follow and dragged on. Forgettable.

I'm thrilled I was able to read this book. It's one of the best middle grade books I've read.

The story deals with subjects like divorce, loneliness, and mental health in a creative and touching way with just the right amount of humor. It's a story told in dual POV, one being Jack, an 11-year-old and the other, George, the imaginary friend Jack let go.

I fell in love with the characters immediately, all of them so full of depth and personality, even George whose world consists of more than just revolving around Jack. It took me back to the first time I watched the movie Toy Story and believed that toys came to life. Now I believe imaginary friends are real.

The way George works to find Jack's father is a true picture of unconditional loyalty. The relationships in the story are a true depiction of real life. Some are one-sided, misunderstood, and even the best intentions can be misguided.

The author also includes a character with mental health issues and did a great job of the signs for a younger audience. He shows Jack's mom's personality as the story unfolds, gradually increasing the behavior confusing to Jack, until it spins out of control. Even throughout the story, the author sprinkles in characteristics at a pace younger readers can understand and identify.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this is one of my favorite middle grade reads and I would recommend this for all readers, especially reluctant ones. The creativity and message will grab them immediately.

This book took what could have been a rough situation (well, it is) and made it a heartwarming cozy type story where you root for everyone involved. The premise is so original, and the family's values being more than your nuclear one will resonate with tweens in all kinds of situations.

This is a forthcoming middle-grade about a boy grappling with the aftermath of the end of his parents' relationship and his mother's untreated Bipolar Disorder. When, during a Manic episode, his mother leaves him with his aunt, Jack seeks support from his former imaginary friend, George, to find his parents. Though I loved the idea of a book exploring a child's response to parental mental health issues, I think the content was a little overambitious for the length and reading level of this book, and George's parallel journey about self-identity muddled the plot a bit and made the ending feel rushed.

Publication date: 2/2/2021

actual rating: 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Jimmy Matejek-Morris and Carolrhoda Books for providing me a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

The title caught my attention at first sight. I'm a sucker for stories about imaginary friends—mainly because I still very much believe in mine. And this book is all about that, believing and not believing in imaginary friends, especially during your hard time.

The story is written in both Jack and George's point of view and I found that interesting. There's so much emotions in this book. It was a heartwarming journey. :]

This is such a heart-warming story. It’s got enough humor to keep it from just being a tear-jerker, even though it deals with some serious issues and themes. Jack was getting too old for his imaginary friend George, his parents encouraged him to find some “real” friends. Before he knew it,George was gone. But when life falls apart, when Jack’s parents separate and his mom’s mental health takes a turn for the worse,, George is the only one who can help Jack.
George is so funny and so original. He doesn’t always have a full understanding of what’s going on or why things happen - or that he’s imaginary... but he would do anything to help Jack,.
I read over half of this book the first time I picked it up, There’s definitely a lot of insight here into how kids cope with family turmoil. I recommend this as an outside-the-box read for anyone looking for something different. I would also highly recommend to fans of Matt Haig- nowhere near as dark as some of Matt Haig’s stuff, but a different take on some heavy subject matter with a side of humor. No graphic or objectionable content - George is careful to substitute everyone’s bad words for off the wall but less offensive things. Give it a read !

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Carolrhoda for providing me with a eARC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

Ever wondered what happened to your imaginary friend? I picked this book on a whim; the cover hooked me. I couldn't resist the cuteness of a (half-) walrus in a top hat.

Jack is going through a rough time. His parents have split up and he hasn't seen his dad in 9 months. His mom struggled for a while, but seems to be doing better. One day at lunch with his mom and semi-awful step-cousins, his ex-imaginary best friend gets brought up. And thus starts his search for George, the half-walrus who was his best friend for many years.

Told in alternating chapters from Jack's point of view and George's. George has a sweet, innocent point of view, when the people cuss he uses silly substitutes like "fudge," and he gets things hilariously wrong sometimes. I also liked how bi-polar is handled. It felt real without being overwhelming. Highly recommend. This book got me out of my reading slump; I finished this in 2 hours. It's is funny, cute, heart-warming, and binge-worthy. I hugged my Kindle after reading this.

Sure wanted to love this. It has all the things I would love but it didn’t come together. George grated on me. I get it, he was created that way, by a child, but it just didn’t work for me. I appreciate it the message here. It is important. Thanks for letting me try.

My Ex-Imaginary Friend by Jimmy Matejek-Morris |Book Review|
fictiveescapes Book Reviews January 7, 2021 1 Minute
This book did a great job at showing that not all families are nuclear and that sometimes someone’s very Best Friend can live within their imagination. It would be a great tool for beginning to discuss mental illness and coping mechanisms with late elementary school students and above.


The novel follows Jack and his imaginary friend George (who is part walrus). George is the best at magic tricks and creating new games to play. The pair spend the novel navigating growing up and beginning to come to terms with Jack’s parents recent divorce- as well as, his mother’s mental illness (bi-polar disorder) which has become more unbalanced from stress.

I love how this novel wasn’t afraid to get really emotional at times and how no one in Jack’s family makes fun of him for still having an imaginary friend. It is just understood that it is his personal coping mechanism. Jack is a realistic character who is written perfectly for the age that he is… in an era where every character seems to be a genius. It was nice to read about a character who is just average; no special talents required.

I recommend this novel to anyone looking for something creative, but not overly fantastical. I like how this novel was able to portray bi-polar disorder without shoving complex medical jargon into the story; nor by scaring the reader by getting too extreme with Jack’s mother’s highs or lows (even though she isn’t in the novel for very long). Thank You NetGalley for providing me with an early review copy.

While I received a copy of this ebook from the publisher, all opinions remain my own.

This book is about a boy who's imaginary friend George (half-walrus, half-human, all magic) reappears when his mother (you later learn in a manic state) leaves him with his aunt, uncle and cousins. As the synopsis puts it "Jack decides that only George can help him figure out where people go when others stop believing in them--and how Jack can put his family back together."

He and George are trying to figure out how to find Jack's mom, leaving his aunt's house and going back to his now empty home. In the midst of the adventure, George starts to disappear, at least parts of him do. Does he have to rejoin Jack to survive?

I thought this book was pretty amazing. Mental health is such a hard subject and dealing with a parent who has issues can be overwhelming. This book put things into simple terms that made things easy to discuss with your child, if that is something you are dealing with. I love that Jack felt safe in his Aunt's home. That his mom didn't just leave him home alone. I also really appreciated that it didn't end with all the problems of the mentally sick person suddenly being okay because we all know that isn't how it works.

My Ex-Imaginary Friend is a delightfully quirky story told in alternating points of view between 11-yo Jack and the imaginary friend who inexplicably disappeared from his life. The hilarious escapades of the imaginary friend as he tries to get anyone to notice him are the perfect counterbalance with Jack's often heartbreaking real-life struggles to feel loved by a mom with bipolar disorder and a dad who abandoned them. Get ready to alternately laugh and grab your tissue box in this imaginative and engaging middle-grade debut!

My Ex-Imaginary Friend follows 11 year old Jack as he meets George again, his imaginary friend. As Jack's feeling lost from the loss of his dad and his mom's bipolar disorder taking a toll on him, he reaches out to his imaginary friend for help. Except George is also feeling lost as he finds himself slowly disappearing; because no one believes him. Together they seek console in each other as they embark on fun journeys to find themselves and their families. It's an incredibly heartfelt and wholesome book that has so many wonderful messages in it. It's great for middle graders but has a lot of lessons that can also resonate with adults.

A heartfelt story about family, friendships and mental health, this quirky story will have you laughing in one instance and then tug at your heart strings the next. When Jack finds himself seemingly abandoned by both his parents, he turns to his best friend George for help and support finding them. But George is no ordinary best friend, he’s Jack’s part walrus, part human supposed imaginary friend. Or is he? The story is told alternately through the voice of Jack and George, both giving the reader different perspectives on what it is to belong and be believed in. There is so much to share and discuss in this book, and it’s definitely set to be a great book for the classroom and book groups. I enjoyed picking up this story and look forward to sharing it with my pupils at school.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc of this book.

The basic concept of this book reminded me of Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, where an imaginary friend will disappear if his child no longer needs/remembers him. That being said. it's written for a younger audience and doesn't have the same emotional weight.

Jack has a tough family situation - his father is more or less out of the picture and his mother decides to leave him at his aunt's an disappear. He decides to go looking for his imaginary friend George, who he stopped playing with with he got real friends. The story is told in alternating chapters between Jack and George's perspective; George is also trying to find his way back to Jack, or to find anyone else who can see him.

There are a lot of heavy topics discussed in this book, particularly what's going on with Jack's parents. However, it flopped back and forth between this and the story about Jack and George. It felt like there was too much going on - was it a story about family or about an invisible friend? I suppose the answer is both. The problem is that neither part of this story was fleshed out enough, and yet at the same time, it felt too slow or repetitive in places.

That being said, I think kids will like this book. They'll be able to relate more to how Jack is feeling, as well as to the idea of having an invisible friend - one they still have or one they've left behind recently. The George chapters didn't interest me as much as the Jack chapters, but I think kids would like these parts and find them more funny and charming than I did.

3.5 stars

I like reading middle grade books every now and again. The stories have to be so much crisper and more deliberate when the author cannot rely on sex or violence, as is the case in so many adult novels (at least these days). This was a magical story about what it means to be a friend - and to be a family - and about the line between reality and imagination and how often it blurs. George is a delight. Matejek-Morris does a lovely job making him the most real character of the entire story. The balancing act between his insecurities and his overwhelming love for Jack was managed with a delicacy that I found endearing but never overdrawn. Jack himself is a marvelous encapsulation of the contradictions of his age - mature one minute, a child the next - and felt wholly believable. His struggles with his family - both real and imaginary - were relatable and resonated with me as an adult, but I can also see how they would resonate with a child, in a different fashion. To me, that's the true beauty of what Matejek-Morris has achieved here: this is a story that an adult AND child can read, both can enjoy and relate to, and both can take appropriate lessons from... This was a truly lovely tale and I can't wait to share it with my daughter!

I received an electronic ARC from Lerner Publishing Group through NetGalley.
How do you cope when your dad abandoned you and your mom runs away leaving you with your aunt & uncle and cousins? You reconnect with your imaginary friend. The one you left behind in anger after your parents separated.
Jack is almost eleven and struggling to make sense of his world. He feels that no one wants him and everyone leaves him - even George, his half walrus/half human friend.
Told in alternating chapters, readers see both characters grow and figure out their worlds. Matejek-Morris uses a tender tone as he describes the heavy emotional load this child is carrying. He does include lighter moments and overtones along with the serious scenarios.
Readers along with Jack learn what love and friendship can mean and sometimes it means letting go.
Middle grade readers will relate to the childhood connection and the confusion about maturing and coping with situations beyond their control.

I've written a full review of this book on filmstories.co.uk as Children's Book of the Week

But to recap the main points: it's a real delight. It's a thoughtful book about the nature of family, of self-belief and of belief in others. It's also beautifully unexpected: a book that tackles bipolar disorder and child abandonment is also, in places, extremely funny. The relationships are so well-observed, and characters so flawed and rounded, that it really does stick in the mind in the best ways. I hope it does as well as it deserves to.

Wow, this book was an intense roller coaster of emotions for me as a reader. I don't think I've ever encountered a middle grade book that could shift from totally random and zany in one paragraph to utter heartbreak in the next. That being said, I think the strangeness and unpredictability (and I mean both those things as compliments!) of this book made it the perfect vessel to tell a difficult and emotional story. As an adult with mental illness, this is the kind of book I want kids to be reading, and it's exactly the kind of book I wish I had access to as a child. Also, slightly off topic, but I am absolutely obsessed with this cover.