Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend (Matthew Dicks)

"Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend" by Matthew Dicks is a different kind of book - one that really requires you to wrap your head around it.  When I first saw the book, I was intrigued by the cover.  Then, when I found out that it was an autism-themed book, I knew I wanted to read it.  I don't know why I have the sudden fascination with fiction books about autism - possibly because it's a very talked about topic or maybe because it's seen very frequently in schools.  Regardless, it's a very interesting topic and I love how these fiction books help to raise awareness, inform their readers, and put you in the minds of the individuals. 

 

This book is different from the other fiction books with an autism theme.  Whereas books like Mockingbird or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime are told from the perspective of someone with autism, this book is told from the perspective of the imaginary friend of a child with autism.  Strange, right?

 

Budo is Max's imaginary friend.  Max is different from his classmates.  He needs his routines, he doesn't enjoy the company of others, and the whole school situation makes him uncomfortable.  Budo makes it very clear in his memoir that he likes Max's regular classroom teacher, Mrs. Gosk, but doesn't like Mrs. Patterson, one of the support teachers who helps Max throughout the week.  Budo discusses what goes on in Max's day-to-day life, and then they go on a bit of an adventure together. 

 

I liked the book because it gave a new perspective to a child with autism.  Telling the story from the child's perspective, it's hard to see 'everything' - because that's not how they see things.  A child would miss the obvious social cues or wouldn't understand why certain things are happening.  With this book, Budo is able to give honest opinions - you know, being the loving and loyal imaginary friend that he is. 

 

It took a bit of getting used to in the first few chapters, but it was a very neat concept (regardless of whether or not I was completely 'into' the plot in the second half of the book).  Budo, who is so real to his friend Max, is able to share his story while also sharing Max's story.  It's the story of a child and his imaginary friend as they are both growing up.  (Imaginary friends can also be very smart creatures, if you imagine them to be this way...  Budo happens to be very smart and he is very well aware that as soon as his friend Max stops believing in him, he will no longer be alive as an imaginary friend.)

 

I recommend it.  It was interesting.  It was different.  It kept me entertained.  It was a very neat concept. 

And it continues to spread autism awareness. 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Ransom Riggs)

I bought this book with a gift card I received for Christmas.  Basically, I was at Chapter's and wanted to take advantage of the 30% off hardcover boxing day sale.  I searched on their computers for top 2011 picks and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs showed up under Top Teen Books.  (And once again, I did judge the book by the cover... Doesn't that picture make you want to read it?)

The story is centered around Jacob, a sixteen-year-old boy who used to believe everything his grandfather told him (because who doesn't believe these fairy tales as a young child?).  Jacob's grandfather, Abe, then whispers his final words to Jacob, filled with weird ideas and confusing information.  When his terrifying nightmares start, Jacob journeys to an island near Wales to find some answers.  If nothing else, Jacob's family hopes that this journey will help him distinguish between fantasy and reality.  Once there, he finds "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" and begins to believe that these children, who were in fact "peculiar," may still be alive. 

Sounds a little weird, right?  The first hundred pages seemed like they could be very real - no talk of magic - everything seems to be based on Jacob's imagination.  Later in the book, though, there is some "magic" (if you want to call it that!)  There is some time travel - that is, Jacob, who has found the home for peculiar children and knows that something is up, finally finds the entrance to their loop, which is a different world and relives September 3, 1940, over and over again. 

Now what do I mean when I say the children are peculiar?  Well, one of the boys is invisible, one girl has super human strength, another girl can light a flame ball in her hand, and another boy releases bees from his body every time he opens his mouth.  Sounds weird, but it actually makes a lot of sense in the story.

This story mixes real photography from old collections with a new fiction story. I really loved how these very strange photographs were used to tell a creative story.  Just looking at the pictures is cool enough, and then reading the story that "goes along with them" lets you use your imagination and really get into the plot. 

The storyline really kept me interested, especially near the middle and end of the book, where there is a lot more adventure than there is at the beginning.  Without too much of a spoiler... while the book could be a standalone book, I feel like there could possibly be a second one on the way, with the story left kind of wide open at the end. 

I liked this book.  It was good and kept my interest.  You need some imagination to read it - don't expect it to be like a true story based on the photographs.  It's worth reading just to see how well Ransom Riggs connects the photographs.  It was a great first novel by Ransom Riggs and I would definitely read another.

Wonderstruck (Brian Selznick)

I just finished Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick.  I first heard about this book from this blog, written by a librarian who reads many young adult books.  Often, I just skim what she's read, but when I saw her review about Wonderstruck, I immediately looked for it in the library database.  Since there were quite a few copies available throughout the area, I decided to wait for a bit before checking it out (since I saw that it was a GIANT book and didn't think I had time to read it quite yet).  Walking through Chapters last week, I noticed that Brian Selznick's Wonderstruck has now made it right to the front and center.  I picked up the book and skimmed through it, noticing that a good portion of the book is made up of beautiful art.  After being home for two minutes, I searched for it again and noticed that now, 5 of the 7 copies were currently checked out of the various libraries in town.  I thought I'd better get on it before 30 people put the book on hold before me!  I had a copy transferred to my nearest library and picked it up two days later.  Wow, what a story...

The concept of Wonderstruck:  It's composed of two different and separate stories.  Ben's story is told entirely through words and Rose's story is told through pictures.  Ben is searching for a father that he has never known and Rose is in search of an actress who she reads about in the papers.  Their stories are set 50 years apart - oh, and did I mention that both Rose and Ben have hearing impairments?

I read this book very quickly - partly because it was very good and partly because of the beautiful artwork that fills up many of the pages in the book (and allows you to flip the pages quicker than if they were filled with words).  As you're reading both stories, you can see some similarities.  Both stories are well told and, as a reader, you wonder how Selznick is going to finish (and perhaps mesh together) these separate stories.

Also, let's take a moment here to again say how beautiful the artwork in the book is.  I was unsure when I was starting this book - how I was going to understand a storyline when there are no words to help?  The images do such a good job of telling a solid story.  (Yes, a picture can be worth a thousand words.)

Because of its size and weight, it's not a book I would recommend when you're heading on vacation, but it was a great, quick, young adult read that makes you smile at the end.