“An endearing tale of love, loyalty and the extraordinary power of a child’s imagination.”

 

NO MAJOR SPOILERS

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend is a book unlike any other book I have ever read before. Unlike most books, this one has a realism factor that intrigued me as we’ve all had an imaginary friend at some point, who never left our side.

The book is written from the point of Budo, the five year old Imaginary friend of Max, a small autistic boy who relies on Budo to get by. When something unexpected and disheartening happens to Max, Budo’s life is thrown in the air and he realizes that although he loves being Max’s best friend, Max’s happiness comes first.

Throughout reading this book, my favourite character was Budo. I liked the Budo character as he showed me how important it was to put others happiness and safety first. So, I ended up relating to him. I also related to Max, because although I have never gone through what Max had, I did have an imaginary friend, and I did have trouble making friends at that age.

I started reading this book and even though I had read the synopsis on the back of the book, I was intrigued and quite apprehensive as I had a feeling this book would make me cry. I loved the book and there are so many amazing quotes that hit me hard.

Overall, the book was heartwarming with a few odd ‘Oh, no!’ moments, but that is what kept me hooked. The only criticisms I have of this book, albeit just two, firstly being that there were a few repetitions of certain things and secondly, there was a chapter specifically based around Max’s toilet habits, but that can be forgiven as I think that it really helped the reader to understand the everyday struggles of a young child who most would consider as ‘different’.

In closing, I just wish to state that I recommend this book to anyone, regardless of what genres you are in favour of.

 

Reviewed by:

Rachel Spring

Added 3rd May 2015