A review by pandaorb
The Imaginary Corpse by Tyler Hayes

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Hayes' debut novel is probably not what you expect. If, like me, you're expecting a fun, imaginative story about a cute little dinosaur that dives into a little darkness, you'll get exactly what you're looking for - for the first half of the story. After that, you'll discover the darkness is much deeper than you might have dared to imagine.
As advertised, one of the themes of this book is overcoming trauma, and anyone who's gone through trauma knows that it comes out of nowhere and it hits hard. Hayes managed to capture that feeling of being totally blindsided by life, and it was a cunning move.
There was much to love about this novel: the unique characters, the vibrant world, the clever descriptions, and Tippy's sarcastic attitude. But overall, there was a consistent feeling of this story being not quite believable. I know, I know, this is fiction. About imaginary friends. Got it. But, so often I felt as if character dialog and actions were staged. The way that every Friend frequently had to take a pause and give an exposition  on its emotions was so awkward. I could see from miles away that this would be the type of ending where
the bad guy stops because someone asks him to
and then I roll my eyes.
Despite that, I really did love the whimsy that The Imaginary Corpse opened up with, and I equally loved how Hayes chose to close the novel after hitting the Stillreal with a sobering dose of reality. There's definitely room for more stories on the Stuffed Animal Detective Agency. I'm curious to see if they come. 
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