Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend

By: Matthew Dicks

Narrated by: Matthew Brown

Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2012 Matthew Dicks (P)2012 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Matthew Brown gives a winning performance as Budo, the imaginary friend of 8-year-old Max…Brown's uncanny reproduction of Max's high-pitched hysteria makes Max completely believable.” —AudioFile Magazine

“A novel as creative, brave, and pitch-perfect as its narrator, an imaginary friend named Budo, who reminds us that bravery comes in the most unlikely forms. It has been a long time since I read a book that has captured me so completely, and has wowed me with its unique vision. You've never read a book like this before. As Budo himself might say: Believe me.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Sing You Home

“When 8-year –old Max gets kidnapped by his troubled teacher, the true-blue pal he's dreamed up comes to his rescue.” —People Magazine

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!

I love Budo. His unconditional acceptance and love of Max is heartwarming and inspiring. Yes, I know he's imaginary, but that doesn't make him any less real. (You'll see.) Matthew Dicks created one of the most charming, lovable characters I've ever met. He injects humor, warmth, and an insight into what it's like to be "on the spectrum" as well as the challenges for those who love someone "on the spectrum". This is a beautiful story... alternately funny, heartbreaking and thought provoking. (Great narration, too!) Do yourself a favor. Even if you don't have an available credit, buy this book. It's THAT good!

Loved everything about this...

What made the experience of listening to Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend the most enjoyable?

Matthew Brown was an amazing narrator. His voice embodied Budo so well, and was really thoughtful the entire way through the novel.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend?

Each time there was a disappearing. I don't want to say more.

Have you listened to any of Matthew Brown’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, but based on this story, I will.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I cried three or four times during this book...I also laughed countless times. I loved all the emotions it drew out of me.

Any additional comments?

The simple story mixed with Matthew Brown's performance made this a perfect audio book.

READ IT

This was an excellent book. Anyone who is a teacher, parent , therapist or is an adult should read it. The insight into an autistic mine is wonderful

Definitely give it a listen

An absolutely beautiful story. I had my doubts at first, but if you keep listening till the end, you will not regret the listen.

Wonderfully unique and clever!

This book might not be for everyone, but the premise alone is captivating enough to overlook the "negatives". Some have said the writing was juvenile, but if you consider that it is written from the perspective of a 5 year old creature that exists in the imagination of an 8 year old child.. You will realize that the story needed to be told with a child-like innocence to really sell the whole idea. I have read other Matthew Dicks novels, his stories are outside of the box, evocative and written with a lot of passion, finesse and creativity. In my opinion, it takes a very experienced author to write a book with such an outlandish premise and really make it work. He definitely did that with Memoirs Of An Imaginary Friend.

This book captured me completely!!

What made the experience of listening to Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend the most enjoyable?

Even tho this was "written" by a completely fictional character, you never get the impression that it isn't real.

What other book might you compare Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend to and why?

I'm not sure that I've EVER come across a book comparable to this book. Sure, I've read and listened to some other great books. It's just that none of them came from this perspective. :-)

What about Matthew Brown’s performance did you like?

Nothing about his narrative took away from the storyline. It just flowed as a good story should. His performance was "spot-on". You're never distracted by thoughts of how bad or how good the narrator is. It's after you've listened to a truely great performance that you can fully appreciate just how well the narrator did.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

"and you thought imaginary friends aren't real..."

If this book ever makes it to the big screen, I will DEFINITLY be going to the theater. No waiting around for it to be out on DVD.

Any additional comments?

This book had humor as well as sadness in it but in the end, you come away from it with that warm, fuzzy feeling.

Entertaining but predictable and a little sappy.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The story was somewhat suspenseful but too easy to predict the ending.

Would you be willing to try another book from Matthew Dicks? Why or why not?

I would probably consider it depending on the subject. He has a good imagination.

Did Matthew Brown do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

He successfully reminded me the way the way a child thinks

Was Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend worth the listening time?

It is interesting and pretty fast paced. The author took enough time to make me feel something for the characters.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the story even though its a little schmaltzy.

Yes and No

My review is mixed because this story is hokey - there is no way around it. BUT, I had an imaginary friend when I grew up and I honestly forgave all the hokey qualities because I was both reliving when I had my friend and charmed by the sweet observations of this young, passionate friend. I would guess that if you never had an imaginary friend, never had a friend who had one and/or made fun of those who did, that this book would not be your cup of tea.

I want to mention also that the book is well written - there are some wonderful insights into the grown up world (much like in Room) and some turning of phrases that made me forgive myself for looking forward to reading such a precious story. The narration was great.

Interesting Concept

Any additional comments?

The concept of the imaginary friend to a small child was interesting enough to keep me listening, although I did listen on fast speed to keep the story moving. Although the book didn't grab me like it did other people, I was interested enough to keep listening to see where the author was taking the characters.

I enjoyed the interview with the author and Mrs. Gosk at the end.

Great audiobook - informative and imaginative

The idea of telling a story from the perspective of an imaginary friend was interesting in itself, but beyond this the story deals with autism on a very intimate and personal level. As someone who has grown up in a family that cared for several foster children with varying degrees of autism, I could relate to much of what the story dealt with, and really appreciated how the author acknowledges how difficult it can be for families and others to understand and relate to kids like Max. I would recommend this story to anyone interested in autism, whether or not you know much about it. Aside from being informative, though, the story is also quite entertaining and the reader does his job well. The only criticism I would offer is that some of Budo's narration is a little redundant. Overall, definitely an audiobook worth listening to. I recommended it to my mom and she loved it!