Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks

Book:  Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend 

Author:  Matthew Dicks 

Grade:  A 

Recommended To:  Everyone.  This book was so good!

I finished Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend in one day. It was that good.  This book is written from the perspective of the imaginary friend of a boy with Asperger's.   This book is positive, sad, happy, and wonderful all at once.  It was recommended to my by a sorority sister and I got it at the library for free and now I am recommending it to everyone I know.

Here's the thing about reviewing books.  As I read, I start to craft a review in my head, particularly if a book is very good or very bad.  The average reviews are hard to write because I'm not passionate one way or another about those books.  While reading, it is hard not to compare books.  Books that I thought were A material move lower on the list when I read a book that I consider to be better and fully qualify for the A grade.  This makes my grading very subjective because I end up comparing books that are not in the same category.  Was this book an A?  Yes.  Absolutely.  Will this book continue to be an A if I read something even more phenomenal and unique?  I don't know.  I doubt that I will read anything else this good this year.

If you can't tell from that paragraph, I really liked this book.  It was sweet, smart and funny.  It was also unique and interesting.  It is told from the perspective of an imaginary friend of Max, a child with Asperger's, who has trouble making friends and communicating.  It was a lovely little story of how this imaginary friend must put aside his own selfishness to save his "real" friend.

This story didn't strike me as far fetched.  I know, I know, how can a book about an imaginary friend be realistic, but Max was real and deep.  His actions were those of a child with Asperger's and the author did a very good job of showing instead of telling.  I didn't know Max's condition had a name until I read the inside front cover.  I appreciate authors that can do this and Matthew Dicks is no exception.  Apparently he has other books and I intend to check those out too, if they are half as good as Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, then they will be worth the read.

You, reader of this blog, should absolutely read this book.   Happy Reading!