Read this book. It is beautiful. It gave me the feelings of being a child discovering a magic world. Just read it. Please. One of my favorite children's novels of all time.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

It was well-written but a bit too dark of a read for me. I thought the concept behind the book was interesting. It may be hard to find the right patron to recommend this book to but my library did purchase it.

This book is packed with grit and whimsy, a most unusual combination in junior fiction. Amanda Shuffleup's voice is light and spirited, but she rapidly discovers, as we all do at some point, that the world is not always kind to dreamers and people with imaginary friends. The stakes are high, but author A.F. Harrold handles them with sensitivity and care, making for a beautiful, compulsively readable text--a text which is perfectly complemented by Emily Gravett's beautiful, equally whimsical illustrations. Our library has already purchased a copy, which has seen regular use. I would recommend "The Imaginary" to children who are fond of Roald Dahl and Jennifer Holm.