Book Review: Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Memoirs of an Imaginary friend is narrated by Budo, imaginary friend to an eight year old boy named Max. Budo has been around for five years, which is a really long time for an imaginary friend, as they disappear once their human person stops believing in them. Max has kept Budo around for so long because he has some kind of high-functioning autism (I don’t believe it’s ever explicitly stated in the book but all the signs are definitely there) and needs some extra help functioning in the world.
I thought the premise to this book was so original. I loved the world of the imaginary friends. They can only do what their human person imagines that they can do and they can only communicate with their human person and other imaginary friends. Since Budo is only five-years old, he has a child-like outlook on the world, although he is more mature and knowledgeable than an average five year old because he watches TV with Max’s parents at night after Max goes to bed. He also sometimes takes walks to the hospital or all-night gas station after bedtime, where he witnesses all kinds of things, good and bad.
When something terrible happens to Max, Budo has to rally the other imaginary friends and figure out how to save him. I was stumped as to how they would manage this without being able to communicate with human people or move things around – it was really suspenseful and I was on the edge of my seat.
I listened to the audio book which was narrated by Matthew Brown. He did a great job. I loved how he made Budo sound innocent but not too childish.
Budo was a great storyteller and I loved his unique outlook on the world. This is an adult book but with the exception of a few expletives (including a couple of F words) it would be good for kids too. I highly recommend Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend.
Buy this book at:
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(I received this book courtesy of the publisher.)
