Ok, first thing first, I really enjoyed the movie so I wanted to read the book.

The book is VERY different than the movie.
It's a /little/ weird.
I thought it was a little weird that a grown (imaginary) man falls in love with one of the children they help when they get older. Made me a bit uncomfortable. Besides that, It was cute. Much more detail about her life and how she feels. An interesting twist at the end which was not in the movie at all.
The "spicy" scene was awful. Honestly. It was bad. It was super cringey. I don't know how else to say it.
Cute ending but I have questions!
Does God or whoever he works for, magically make him an SSI or ID or anything cause how is he gonna live and work?
I'll say it was an ok story. I like the movie for a cute little Hallmark movie but the book had better details.

What a wonderful story! Just like a fairytale, a young girl's imaginary friend leaves her when she turns 9. She is supposed to forget, but she doesn't, she never forgets him. What if your imaginary friend was your one true love?
This is just one of those feel good, can't put it down books, only 309 pages it is a very quick read.
James Patterson mainly writes mysteries so I would not normally read a book of his. However, he did write Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, which was an incredible tear-jerker. This book is very different and maybe that is the influence of Gabrielle Charbonnet, who is a children's author.

Gooey and sentimental as all get out, but a fast, fun read.

This is a novel to buy Mum for Mother's Day! It's filled with the instant gratification of a Mills and Boon combined with the sigh-worthy love story of 'The Notebook'. If you made me do a blind read on this one, I would never believe it was written by a man....much less a thriller author!

Now, I can't tell you too much without giving it away so I'll let the novel's byline do the talking: What if you're imaginary friend was your one true love? Think about it. What a cool concept! I must admit that part of the novel's charm is trying to figure out exactly who or what Michael is and how on Earth he and Jane are going to get a happy ending.

It is sorrow and joy, childhood and adulthood, beginnings and endings, all in one compact, delightful little novel. Patterson has created another great little read that will leave you feeling, well, happy. If you've read 'The Notebook' or 'Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas', you'll know that when I say happy ending, I'm not guaranteeing it won't be sad.

Read this novel if: You've loved 'The Notebook' or any of Nicholas Sparks's novels. The similarities between these two are significant. If you DO read this book and enjoy it, MAKE SURE you read 'Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas', also by James Patterson. That book is easily worth 5 stars.
Don't read this novel if: Emotions make you feel uncomfortable! Lol, seriously, if you don't cry at movies or commercials, you may not enjoy this one. Definitely a book for the saps!

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OMG, what an amazing book. I loved this one and read it in one night. It's not usual for me to really get into adult lit, but this was on the NV Young Reader's list and it was a very fast read. I really loved this one, and the plot twists were great. Highly recommended!

Seriously, creepy as hell.

Imagine if your imaginary adult friend from when you were an 8 year old child came to life?! And he's...wtf? sexy? Really?! this idea didn't ring huge alarms and make anyone else skeeve out? This grown adult who doesn't age runs into the child he once knew whom he was like a replacement father for, since she had no real relationship with her actual father; if we're being generous, perhaps he saw himself as more in a paternal older brother or maybe uncle kind of way. He runs into this woman he mentored as a child, whom he used to guide and watch over and... wants to hit it now. 🤔 But don't worry! Her life is in complete shambles and THANK goodness when she is at her lowest with any and every aspect of her life, her platonic childhood friend (again, who developed his relationship when he was in his mid-twenties compared to her 8yr old self) is just the predator to swoop in and bang her. Er, I mean save her, I suppose is what the message was sold as! But excuse me while I barf into a nearby houseplant. To ice the predator-vibes cake, when she hesitates to become physical and stiffens up, pulls back, and questions whether this is actually completely weird and a terrible idea to be romantic with he imaginary friend turned flesh, he grabs her and vigorously takes the lead, guiding their intimacy. Don't worry, let the grown up show you!
then
....possible spoiler....

Then he goes to church and realizes oh, geez, she's just dying! I've magicked back into her life to help her through dying! So he hangs out with her but then leaves her, because the idea makes him sad.

...For Sure spoiler....

Just kidding! Her life isn't over, she's just at her most alone and vulnerable because her mother is dying! ...and he swoops in to be in charge of coaching her life again. whew!

and best of all, he's back to being a mentor to other children, because who knows, this thing with her might not last right? gotta groom her replacement.



I could maybe grant that somewhere in this mess of sappy cliches about destiny, trying to ignore that uneven power dynamic relationships are creepy as fuuuuuu- ok, so there were some funny moments. The relationship with the controlling, narcissist mother was entertaining, the conniving former boyfriend was fun to hate. But I'd recommend a hard pass on this unless you want to strain your eyes with all the rolling.
This could have easily been written by a precocious 14yr old for the depth of the description about the love affair, it was so syrupy! But campy fluff books are much better without holding up unhealthy relationship dynamics as an idealized and romantic thing.

it just made my skin crawl.

I feel kind of bad giving this one 2 stars - back when I read fiction almost exclusively, this would have been a 5-star for sure. But since I've started reading a wider variety of genres, I find that I'm really losing my patience with most fiction. It all just seems so... fluffy.

I was giving the side-eye to the plot from the beginning - the story isn't bad, just too fluffy for my tastes at the moment.

Typical James Patterson - short, quick chapters, several plot twists, but an overall happy ending. If you're into fiction primarily, you'll probably enjoy this more than I did.

A little unbelievable at times, but just enjoyable to read.

if you liked Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas you'll like this book about a girl who meets her imaginary friend as an adult
sweet story with a happy movie ending
perfect summer fodder

Like most of James Patterson's books, this was easy to read and entertaining, though certainly not great literature. Unlike most of the other Patterson books I've read, it was not a mystery. It is the story of a girl with an imaginary friend who grows up to fall in love with the imaginary friend and also realize her mother's love.

The book was an easy read, with short chapters, but I kind of wish I had chosen another book to read. The story might make a great TV movie.