Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend
A Novel
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- ¥1,400
発行者による作品情報
Imaginary friend Budo narrates this heartwarming story of love, loyalty, and the power of the imagination—the perfect read for anyone who has ever had a friend . . . real or otherwise
Budo is lucky as imaginary friends go. He's been alive for more than five years, which is positively ancient in the world of imaginary friends. But Budo feels his age, and thinks constantly of the day when eight-year-old Max Delaney will stop believing in him. When that happens, Budo will disappear.
Max is different from other children. Some people say that he has Asperger's Syndrome, but most just say he's "on the spectrum." None of this matters to Budo, who loves Max and is charged with protecting him from the class bully, from awkward situations in the cafeteria, and even in the bathroom stalls. But he can't protect Max from Mrs. Patterson, the woman who works with Max in the Learning Center and who believes that she alone is qualified to care for this young boy.
When Mrs. Patterson does the unthinkable and kidnaps Max, it is up to Budo and a team of imaginary friends to save him—and Budo must ultimately decide which is more important: Max's happiness or Budo's very existence.
Narrated by Budo, a character with a unique ability to have a foot in many worlds—imaginary, real, child, and adult— Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend touches on the truths of life, love, and friendship as it races to a heartwarming . . . and heartbreaking conclusion.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Elementary school teacher Dicks's quirky and pleasant newest (after Unexpectedly, Milo) is narrated by Budo, eight-year-old Max Delaney's imaginary friend of five years, who also serves as Max's guardian/confidante and can only "persist" so long as Max doesn't "forget" about him. Max's dad, a manager at a Connecticut Burger King, and Max's mom, a manager at Aetna, argue and fret about the introverted Max, a "late bloomer" and "special needs" student. The charmingly sophisticated Budo likes Max's teacher, Mrs. Gosk, but he's suspicious of Mrs. Patterson, his paraprofessional. Budo's wariness proves well-founded when the "little-boy-stealing devil" Mrs. Patterson (who is grief-stricken over the death of her son, Scotty) kidnaps Max. The tenacious Budo finds him in Mrs. Patterson's basement playing with Legos; since Budo can only communicate with Max, he enlists imaginary friends Oswald the Giant and Teeny the fairy to orchestrate Max's release. But while Budo fights to free Max, he also has his own tenuous existence to worry about. A chipper narrative and lively climax make Dicks's newest a fun read and engaging exploration of the vibrant world of a child's imagination.
