Welcome to Litsy!

Was pretty good. Could have done with some editing to get the length down.

One of the best psychological thrillers I‘ve read in years. The story pulled me in instantly and the twists and turns, and connections to each character kept me gripped until the very last page. The length of the book made me hesitant at first but I‘m so glad I didn‘t let that stop me as it‘s now one of my favourite books. 🤯🏆

Though it has moments of emotional beauty, ultimately Imaginary Friend reads as an envious and highly inferior clone of Stephen King‘s It.

A perfect spooky read for October, I devoured these 700 pages in two days. With hints of Stephen King and Stranger Things, the creep factor is high and left me shaken over and over again. As a lapsed Catholic, the small town of Mill Grove was achingly familiar to my own hometown; weekly CCD and the questions of morality and redemption could have come from my own childhood. Even when the book veers into intense religious allegory, I was hooked. 5⭐️

#CurrentlyReading📖

I made it through!!!! This book was a pick up until the 400 pg mark where he starts writing the same scene, character in peril, character gets saved, no stakes, over and over and over again, for 300 more pages. 7 yo Christopher walks into the woods. Disappears for 6 days and comes back a little different and with an imaginary friend. There were some horrific scenes in here like one that takes place at a Chucky Cheese but a lot of it felt like👇🏼

So on your bottom left we have pandemic, Grizzly Adams, homeless looking man, Reggie. And on your bottom right is going back to work today for the first time since Halloween, Reggie. Taken a day apart. Lol wish me luck, Littens. And in between, the book that feels like I will never get through. I have built it up to be much more of a monster in my head than it needs to be. Happy Reading!

🎵It‘s the most. Hated timeeeee of the week🎶 Lol the books not bad so far.

The book was a little slow in the beginning but it definitely got so much better. I couldn't put it down! It was probably one of the craziest books I've ever read.

Currently reading this. So far, so good.

I really enjoyed the very disturbing first half but the ending was a religious mess. You have a kid who starts talking to a plastic bag, creepy woods, insane parents and one overly religious teenager plus a whole town that goes nuts. It started so well.
#ReadNosedReindeer @StayCurious

I really liked this one, despite it being so long, I found it very interesting and always kept me wanting more. I didn't even mind the length because I liked each character and there was something new, or a new piece to the puzzle, or maybe even another puzzle. I felt like a few things were a bit repetitive and said too often, so I'm going to give this one a 4.5/5

I started this on November 18, 2020.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

@Reggie @DGRachel @sprainedbrain what do we think?

OMG thank you @j.rye You‘re the best! I love all of my #HauntedHallowSwap goodies so much! 😍🎃👻 #OpeningDay (there‘s more but Naru was being a hog lol) great picks for the candies too!! Thank you again, this really brightened my day! Happy Halloween!

I had started and stopped so many books recently that I was glad I finally found one that stuck with me. Though I did feel like it dragged on at some points (specifically the chase scene towards the end), I enjoyed this novel overall and was finally glad to get a solid October read in.

Thanks for the tag! @MoonWitch94

#ThoughtfulThursday

🎃 Yes, I do
🎃 Both

@MoonWitch94

I liked the Stranger Things / early Stephen King vibe and the basic storyline & characters BUT I also found the fanged deer more ridiculous than scary and the writing too repetitive for my liking (maybe 5 less frog coming to a boil passages?) I‘m handing it off to my 13-year old who I think will LOVE it. Thanks again for this one @FantasyChick

Genuine question: Can hissing be visible? 🤔

It‘s soooooooo looooonng!!!! Great story though! I really enjoyed it, kept me guessing!

I'm finding it hard to articulate how I feel about this read...a little disappointed, perhaps. I knew that Imaginary Friend was a departure from his debut novel, but I was excited to see how a novel “20 years in the making“ would pan out. Well...it wasn't for me. It felt too long (700+ pages) & I didn't stay engaged with the characters. I definitely got Stephen King vibes - in the subject matter, the path the story took, & the length! #Screamathon

Starting October off right

Physical stack for the #Screamathon! First up: Imaginary Friend. 👻 💀 🎃

I recently finished Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky. It is definitely near the top of my faves this year. #mbcreadathon #mbcgiveaway6

Finishing the tagged book gave me two bingos!

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

So glad that #BookSpinBingo finally pushed me to read this one. @TheAromaofBooks

I went in not expecting much. I tend to compare all horror novels to Stephen King, but this one was quite enjoyable.

I love horror told from a kid's point of view because it just makes it extra spooky. The idea of the imaginary world made me think of the upside down world in Stranger Things, but I liked the way the author handled it.

Overall, it's a solid read.

Just too many words, and I love words.

Started off really good. I was into it. Kind of gave me Stranger Thing vibes. Then it just got really strange and kind of confusing and couldn't focus on it as well. I did listen to the audiobook to help me get through it. The audiobook narrator is fantastic!

I didn't love this book, which seemed to be an effort to write a Stephen King/Joe Hill kids in supernatural danger thriller. For one thing, the kids should have been at least 11 or 12; 7 was wildly implausible. Also, there was just too much, for too long, too much racing around pursued by nightmares in a hellish theologically-tinged fever dream. The ending somewhat made up for things, but I was exhausted by that point.

wow. just wow!

this book was brilliant! i love a plot that zigs and zags with an ending that makes me chuckle by its sheer ingenuity. i'm still shaking my head.

if this turns into a movie, i hope the writers, directors, producers do it justice.

Book 51 I listened to this VERY long, very weird book (over 24 hours on 1.25 speed) by the author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and coauthor of Wonder. This comes out of left field! Part-thriller, part-horror, you never know where this book is heading or where it will end up. Feels nightmaresque. It may be a great read for you, but I can't recommend it.

"Don't leave the street"

Had to go through half my shelves before finding one ?

#bookhunt
@ShyBookOwl

This is a strange book. There were times I couldn‘t put it down. There were times I wanted to DNF it. I can see why it is compared with Stephen King books, because it is definitely creepy. Bottom line, though, is this book is too long. King books never feel tedious to me. This one felt like the editor needed to cut out at least 200 pages. The concept here with religious overtones is fascinating. I wish I would have liked this more.

Dear Mr Chbosky,

Great idea for a story. So great, in fact, it made me leave my comfort zone and dip my toe into the horror genre.

But then...well, what happened? Did you set yourself a goal of 700 pages and decide to fill them no matter what? You know you could have written a book half that long without all the repetition, right?

I felt as tortured as your characters.

Sincerely,
Disappointed Reader

As many have already said, I found that this book starts strong then gets a bit repetitive. Additionally, there‘s a twist at about the 3/4 mark that just didn‘t work for me, which is problematic as the rest of the book relied upon it. It also went to an overtly religious place that I didn‘t expect and wasn‘t happy about. And thanks for making deer sinister, Stephen! 😑

I enjoyed this book a lot in the beginning. It does feels like a children‘s book at times, which is fine since you‘re in the mind of a little boy. Towards the middle of the book everything felt very repetitive and drawn out and it continued with that feel the rest of the way through. I almost DNF this. It would have been better if it was shorter, unfortunately.

This 700 page book could have been 400 pages if the author would just stop repeating himself.

I'm so annoyed, but I'm determined to finish at this point.

C'mon, kid, just save the world already.

I am shocked that I was able to finish this book in three days. This book is way too long for the payoff. The whole middle portion could be completely removed and the book would be just as effective. I liked a lot of the characters and the abstract story line, but the book wasn‘t enjoyable overall. It was so repetitive and drawn out. Right on the edge of pan.

This is the most unnecessarily long book I have ever read. I think I would like it if it wasn‘t so repetitive and drawn out.... but I can‘t even tell at this point. It just goes on and on, my friend.

I loved this book! It was so much more then I was expecting and I didnt know where it was taking me. I finished this book a couple weeks ago now and I'm still thinking about it..
I've never read a book like it ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was almost a so-so for me because I felt like it was unnecessarily long and a bit repetitive. But, the story was extremely well written and creative. I loved the mix of Stephen King and Stranger Things vibe that I got from this with the underdog kids and weird powers. Creepy story. Mostly entertains. A pick from me - about 3.5 stars, I would say. #botm

I really enjoyed reading this book! It kept me interested and wondering what would happen next.

My March Reads...I‘d say it was pretty successful

Let me clarify there are several notable characters and much more happens than what I am about to describe!

Christopher lives with his mom, who is pretty down on her luck, but after Christopher meets his imaginary friend, things change. Christopher is suddenly intelligent, his mother wins the lottery, they get a house.

All things come at a price!

Lots of religious references, but I ended up really appreciating the detail and plot. Solid ending!

I really enjoyed this book. I have two criticisms. The first is that it was about 200 pages too long. It was super twisty and a couple could have been removed. The second is that it started out as very creepy but by the end the gruesomeness was constant and I became desensitized. Very interesting premise and unique story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1. Famous novelist
2. Bookstore
3. Inspiration - I‘d love to see others views of me.
4. Shred it. Could be therapeutic.

#manicmonday

I admire an author who wears their influence on their sleeve, while also creating something fresh. Chbosky achieves this in his sophomore novel, clearly influenced by King & with significant nods to at least 3 King novels. We really don't see epic horror books like this published anymore, I would have finished it several days ago if not for news cycle distractions. I will say that I'm not 💯 convinced, he sticks the landing. Going to have to 👇