Confessions of an Imaginary Friend

Starred review from June 1, 2015
This wise and funny (faux) memoir begins with eight-year-old narrator Jacques Papier admitting that he is baffled by his unpopularity. It isn’t that he’s picked last for kickball—he isn’t picked at all. Teachers ignore him, bus drivers close the door in his face, his own dog growls at him. Luckily Jacques’s twin sister, Fleur, loves him unconditionally. A playground encounter with a roller-skating cowgirl only Jacques can see forces a harsh reckoning—he isn’t Fleur’s brother; he’s her imaginary friend. One day he was a boy, the next he is “what? Ethereal? Intangible? Invisible?” In one of many hilarious scenes, he joins a support group, Imaginaries Anonymous, whose leader, Stinky Sock, invites Jacques to tell the group why he is there. “I’m not actually here. That’s why I’m... here,” says Jacques. In the same way that Toy Story 2 imagined an afterlife for the playthings kids outgrow, Cuevas’s novel—brimming with metaphors, gorgeous imagery, and beautiful turns of phrase—considers the fate of devoted but invisible companions. Have tissues on hand for the bittersweet ending. Ages 9–12. Agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management.

June 15, 2015
An imaginary friend who yearns to be real learns about life along with the children who conjure him up in a variety of guises. Cuevas' episodic story features childlike black-and-white drawings that contrast oddly with the decidedly adult tone of her main character's musings. Jacques Papier is ostensibly 8 years old when he discovers that he is merely a figment of his "twin sister" Fleur's imagination. When her parents take her to a psychiatrist, Jacques is stuck in the waiting room, where he meets Mr. Pitiful, Stinky Sock, and a variety of other oddball characters who invite him to the next meeting of Imaginaries Anonymous. With information gleaned there, he sets out on a series of new incarnations, from prisoner/co-conspirator/damsel in distress through perfect pet to best friend and magician's assistant. New placements are made by the "reassignment office." The description of this hilariously inefficient bureaucracy would make most adults chuckle knowingly, but it seems unlikely that young readers will get the joke. Between assignments, Jacques exists in a dark limbo, remembering bits and pieces of his previous lives and wondering about the nature of reality. Though the writing is clever and there are plenty of amusing incidents included, life lessons and existential truths overwhelm everything, suggesting that the audience for this uneasy amalgam of whimsy and wisdom will be small. (Fiction. 8-10)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2015

Gr 3-5-Reminiscent of Carlo Collodi's classic The Adventures of Pinocchio, this novel from the author of Beyond the Laughing Sky (Dial, 2014) and The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant (Farrar, 2011) is an offbeat and unique chronicle of the life of an imaginary friend. Constantly ignored by his classmates, teachers, and even his parents, Jacques Papier feels like everyone hates him, except for his sister Fleur. When he learns the devastating truth-that he is actually Fleur's imaginary friend-Jacques goes on a soul-searching journey to discover himself in the hopes to one day become real. Written as a fictional "autobiography," the first-person narration helps readers better understand and sympathize with Jacques and his unusual plight. Despite being imaginary, Jacques is still a fully realized character, with his own fears, hopes, and quirks, and is an engaging protagonist. Cuevas includes several clever and humorous touches to Jacques' story, including "Imaginaries Anonymous," a support group for imaginary friends once they learn that they are imaginary, and "The Office of Reassignment," a bureaucratic agency where imaginary friends go to be reassigned to new children when their old ones outgrow them. Jacques encounters a fun and eccentric cast of imaginaries on his quest to become real and also impacts the lives of several real children whom he meets. Cuevas's line drawings are sprinkled throughout, depicting some of her more inventive imaginaries. While some children might be disappointed that Jacques doesn't get the exact happy ending he originally wants, in the end his story does come full circle, providing a satisfying, albeit bittersweet, conclusion. VERDICT A lovely and unique tale. Recommended.-Laura J. Giunta, Garden City Public Library, NY

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.