Imaginary Girls
Nova Ren Suma
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Release Date: June 14, 2011
Pages: 352
Source: Publisher

Rating: 2.75 stars

Chloe’s older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can’t be captured or caged. When a night with Ruby’s friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate London Hayes left floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby.

But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood.

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma was a book I had heard high praises for and had high hopes for, but sadly it didn’t live up to the hype and expectations I had. I found myself confused for the majority of the book. The plot was interesting, but I found it underdeveloped, probably due to my high confusion. The characters were a mix – some I liked, while others I found incredibly shallow and completely unlikable. Things were pretty much split down the middle of things I did and didn’t like, but tipped slightly towards the negative for me.

Imaginary Girls had an addictive quality that kept me wanting to read. Part of this was because I wanted to read so that some of my questions could be answered, but the plot was also really interesting. It was a really unique idea – the one thing I didn’t like is that I felt like there was this hint of paranormal throughout the entire book, but I was never completely sure if that was the case or not. I like books to just come out and tell me.

It wasn’t until somewhere around the 280 mark out of 352 pages that I started to get a glimmer of hope that some of my questions would be answered. That glimmer turned out to be a fallacy, and the book ended without out really answering all my questions. I am not a fan of when books have so many questions that need to be answered and those questions merely get answered with more questions. I am fine with not knowing some things, but I honestly felt like I knew nothing that was going on until the last 20 pages, and even then all my questions were not answered.

The characters were a real mix. I really did like Chloe – I thought she was a great character. I liked her voice and thought she really stood her own ground, despite being cast as a sort of Ruby junior. Ruby on the other hand, I did not like one bit. I found her very shallow, hard to relate to, and just too self-centered.

Nova Ren Suma writes just beautifully. The descriptions were vivid and every page just flowed together this beautifully woven story.

I love the cover – it is absolutely stunning. It’s very eerie looking to me. Imaginary Girls was an interesting book, but it is more a book I’d recommend waiting to get from the library. Parts were great, others just good, and others could have been better.

While there were a lot of aspects I was not as of fond of, I really can see where others would like it. I don’t like not being told everything, and characters really are one of the biggest aspects of a book for me. I didn’t like one of the two main characters – so that holds a lot of influence over my impression.

Here are some reviews of others who have loved the book:
Icey Books
The Book Pixie
Frenzy of Noise