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A review by bearycrumbly
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
4.0
This book was amazing. Considering that it's the first book I've ever read from the perspective of an imaginary friend, or from the eyes of a best friend of an autistic child, it was not boring like I expected. At all.
From the start, you get introduced to Budo. You see the world through his child-like mind. He thinks in pretty much black and white, like most kids do. You also see a refreshing view where an autistic child is portrayed as different from other kids, but still normal. Not 'special' or problematic like in real life. You get to see what Budo sees of Max, a kid with his own likes and dislikes, and how he copes with the outside world. I really identified with Budo. I think most people would. He is a good kid, albeit a little selfish at times. We all have times where we think like him, for example 'I want to read that book. But I have no money. My friend has money, maybe I could suggest to him that the book is interesting and that we read it together. But that would be selfish of me. What should I do?' Times where we argue with ourselves between what is right and what benefits us. Just like how Budo fights with himself. This aspect made the book feel real, as if the characters were living, breathing human beings with flaws and strengths. They're not perfect.
Towards the end of the book, we see how he eventually chose to help Max, despite his own fears of what might happen to himself. He supports Max, encourages him, and sacrifices himself for Max, just so that Max could grow up.
The ending was a really bittersweet ending. I liked how it was vague, so that readers could choose to interpret it the way they liked best. Usually I prefer my endings fixed by the author, but with this book I found that the ending suited it perfectly.
The only reason I gave this book a 4 instead of 5 stars is because I somehow felt that it lacked something. There was nothing that made me go 'WOW' and feel like I was a four-year-old seeing fireworks for the first time. Maybe if there was a bit more suspense or excitement, I would have given it a 5. But, it was still amazing and refreshing:)
I would recommend it to people who want a nice change of view on 'different' children:D
From the start, you get introduced to Budo. You see the world through his child-like mind. He thinks in pretty much black and white, like most kids do. You also see a refreshing view where an autistic child is portrayed as different from other kids, but still normal. Not 'special' or problematic like in real life. You get to see what Budo sees of Max, a kid with his own likes and dislikes, and how he copes with the outside world. I really identified with Budo. I think most people would. He is a good kid, albeit a little selfish at times. We all have times where we think like him, for example 'I want to read that book. But I have no money. My friend has money, maybe I could suggest to him that the book is interesting and that we read it together. But that would be selfish of me. What should I do?' Times where we argue with ourselves between what is right and what benefits us. Just like how Budo fights with himself. This aspect made the book feel real, as if the characters were living, breathing human beings with flaws and strengths. They're not perfect.
Towards the end of the book, we see how he eventually chose to help Max, despite his own fears of what might happen to himself. He supports Max, encourages him, and sacrifices himself for Max, just so that Max could grow up.
The ending was a really bittersweet ending. I liked how it was vague, so that readers could choose to interpret it the way they liked best. Usually I prefer my endings fixed by the author, but with this book I found that the ending suited it perfectly.
The only reason I gave this book a 4 instead of 5 stars is because I somehow felt that it lacked something. There was nothing that made me go 'WOW' and feel like I was a four-year-old seeing fireworks for the first time. Maybe if there was a bit more suspense or excitement, I would have given it a 5. But, it was still amazing and refreshing:)
I would recommend it to people who want a nice change of view on 'different' children:D