-
Imaginary Friend - Stephen Chboski

 I see two faults with this book which has resulted in me taking away a single star.

1. The book is too long. It could easily have been cut in half and it would still be just as satisfying. It's an enjoyable read, but there's only so many times I can bother with the "were safe now oohhhh noooo something bad happened" trope.

2. The way the book starts and ends is on a completely different note, and evokes completely different feelings. You could easily split the book into two separate stories and they'd work fine on their own.

That being said, the book is quite enjoyable. I found myself captivated by the strong characters, and thoroughly enjoyed the spooky imagery the book provided. Is it the scariest thing out there? No. But it is thought provoking, it does provide entertainment, and it did keep me seated for the last hundred pages until I finished. Chbosky does a great job of making us feel for his characters, and that's what drives the story forward. You care, you need to know what happens to them, and you feel yourself strung along until the end to figure out what happens. Now, there are twists and turns, and some of them are great, and some of them just left me shrugging my shoulders. Not everything is going to smack you in the face with shock, but they are enough to give you a small start and a pause, which is enough for me. The plot itself is unique, Chbosky did well in coming up with something that felt a bit fresh for a horror book, and it kept me interested enough to continue to read on, wanting to know what happens and where it goes.

All in all, a good book. Enjoyable story, vivid imagery, characters you can connect to. A solid read, if not a bit long.

 Solid 4/5 stars.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
The Sleep Experiment - Jeremy Bates I sat here for a solid minute thinking of what to write, of what to say about this book. It's entertaining, unique, well written.  The lack of a single star is only for a few cheesy, mild moments that made me roll my eyes and perhaps breath in a little sharper. This book has an interesting plot, and if you haven't read The Russian Sleep Experiment, I suggest you do, as this particular story stems from it. What happens when we simply don't sleep? That's what Doctor Roy Wallis is set to find out with his experiment. Two people stuck in a room pumped full of gas to keep them awake. As days bleed into nights and nights bleed into days we see the effects that a lack of sleep has on the human body and mind. I won't say the book is "action packed". There are a few slow moments that I wanted to skim, rather than read, but I chugged through it, searching for important information hidden within the fluff. The characters are no...
Read more
-
Misery - Stephen King  Ah, the first Stephen King novel I've ever read, and as always, my favorite. This book holds a special place in my heart because it features King's scariest monster of all, an obsessed fan. The book begins with famous author Paul Sheldon, who's just written his latest novel, crashing off the side of a mountain due to a snow storm. But worry not, he's saved by his number one fan, Annie Wilkes. This is where the book turns sour, in a good way. Let us first look at the character of Annie Wilkes. Any reader would gush over meeting their favorite authors. And we all have fantasies in which we play the big, strong hero. Combine those two wishes and anyone on Earth would feel like they were in heaven. We'd gush and fawn and be all a flutter, which is exactly how Annie is portrayed...at first. Things very quickly take a dark turn, and we get to see Annie for who she really is. She's obsessed, she's needy, she's emotional, and she's o...
Read more
-
Don't Scream: 60 Tales to Terrify - Blair Daniels I went into this book expecting some sort of cheesy ghost stories, but I left utterly satisfied and spooked. Yes, admittedly, some stories are cheesy, and made me laugh more than shudder. But a majority of them are very good, some heart breaking, some scary, some disturbing. It's a good mix of different plots, each unique and entertaining. Some I could read in the dark without a problem, while others I had to pop on a light and shut my door. The writing is solid, good use of imagery, good characters, and as I said, fine and unique plots. The stories are never too long that you grow bored, waiting for the next one, in fact some I felt were too short, and I was left going "that was IT?", which is always a fun feeling to have when you're reading. Though you don't get to know the characters well in the few pages you have with them, they are well written, and can evoke emotion from you (for example, one parent in ...
Read more