Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Green (Matthew Dicks)
- Method of Obtaining: I received my copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
- Published by: St. Martin’s Press
- Release Date: 8/21/2012
Imaginary friend Budo narrates this heartwarming story of love, loyalty, and the power of the imagination—the perfect read for anyone who has ever had a friend . . . real or otherwiseBudo is lucky as imaginary friends go. He’s been alive for more than five years, which is positively ancient in the world of imaginary friends. But Budo feels his age, and thinks constantly of the day when eight-year-old Max Delaney will stop believing in him. When that happens, Budo will disappear.Max is different from other children. Some people say that he has Asperger’s Syndrome, but most just say he’s “on the spectrum.” None of this matters to Budo, who loves Max and is charged with protecting him from the class bully, from awkward situations in the cafeteria, and even in the bathroom stalls. But he can’t protect Max from Mrs. Patterson, the woman who works with Max in the Learning Center and who believes that she alone is qualified to care for this young boy.
When Mrs. Patterson does the unthinkable and kidnaps Max, it is up to Budo and a team of imaginary friends to save him—and Budo must ultimately decide which is more important: Max’s happiness or Budo’s very existence.
Narrated by Budo, a character with a unique ability to have a foot in many worlds—imaginary, real, child, and adult— Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend touches on the truths of life, love, and friendship as it races to a heartwarming . . . and heartbreaking conclusion.
- It looked like it could be a cute story.
Not since Room have I been as blown away by a book. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend had me sobbing, clutching my e-reader, laughing out loud, and looking all kinds of a fool as I was willingly captured in it’s embrace.
Memoirs is told from the perspective of Babu, the imaginary friend to Max. Max has Asberger’s Syndrome. This means he doesn’t like to be touched, or enjoy the typical life of a 3rd grader. As such, Babu has lived an incredibly long life – much longer than any other imaginary friend he’s met. And it’s up to Babu to keep Max safe.
Y’all, I get choked up thinking about this book. Green has narrated this book so simply, a child could read it – although I do not recommend that, as the subject matter can get a little intense. Although Babu is the same age is Max, Babu knows a bit more, mostly because Max has imagined that Babu cannot sleep, therefore he spends Max’s sleeping hours learning through listening to others and watching TV. But he doesn’t know everything – and that works so well. I laughed at some of his pronunciation of things (spelled phonetically), a cheered with him as he worked to spur Max on to do things Max does not normally do.
Speaking of… that’s where this book really worked for me. Every action Max undertook on his own was something that was realistic. There was no miraculous healing, no stepping out of the boundaries of his own capabilities. Every action Babu encouraged was something that could have been thought up in Max’s own mind and that’s why this book works so incredibly well.
There are thrilling moments in this book – things happen that had me on the edge of my seat and unwilling to put the book down, even to sleep. But even as there are some evil people, Green does a beautiful job at tugging at the heart-strings, and I just ached for every person involved in the story.
This book has it all, folks. What an amazing read.
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