I cannot believe I have not done a book review since January!
This book, as well as another, has been finished for quite some time now. I have
been excited to write about this book. If you know anything about me and my
reading habits, you know that my favourite books are classified as having an
interesting narration. It is told from the perspective of an imaginary friend
named Budo, and this book had me hooked from the start. I had been eying for it
a while, but I thought it was my mom’s. She swears I bought it myself, so the
origin of this book to my collection is completely unknown. Skip to the end if you want my overall
impression.
1. It’s strange how teachers can go off to
college for all those years to learn to become teachers, but some of them never
learn the easy stuff. Like making kids laugh. And making sure you know they
love them (9).
This quote spoke to me because it is
something I completely agree with. Teaching is what I want to do with my life. But
the really special teachers are the ones that make the biggest impressions
through being who they are. In grade 6, Mrs. Arrowsmith gave me her passion for
words and the English language. In grade 9, Ms. Coumans inspired me to go to
England. In grade 11, Mrs. Goddard pointed out that something was wrong with me
before I realized it myself. In grade 12, I was able to work beside Ms. Morgan
as an inspiration for who I want to be as a teacher. All these teachers made an
impact on my school career, and I intend to be a teacher like the best out
there.
2. Monsters are bad things, but monsters that
do not walk and talk like monsters are the worst (152).
How scary is this thought? Unfortunately,
this is true. As a child, the monsters under your bed are the scariest part of
your world. As an adult, you realize the monsters become the faces you see
every day. It’s the people you’ve known for years. It’s the girl you sit beside
in class. The novel deals with this type of monster in a profound and
heart-wrenching way, but this is how it applies to my life.
3. My voice does not echo because the world
cannot hear my voice. Only Max can hear my voice. But if the world could hear
my voice, it would repeat now. It would echo again and again. That is how loud
I yell Max’s name (169).
This quote does not make sense out of
context, but it is so full of love and desperation Budo is expressing for his
Max. It is part of the whole need to know why he exists in the world beyond
Max. I cannot explain anything else without giving things away.
4. I don’t know how much of Max I am allowed
to lose to save myself (187).
This is similar to the last quote in that
it holds so much passion and meaning in context. However, as a deeper meaning,
I can see the threads of a co-dependent relationship starting to wear down.
There is a fine line between figuring out who you are outside of a relationship
and maintaining the relationship itself.
I think this quote emulates this sensation.
5. Because existing is so important. It’s the
most important thing (197).
This is one of the main themes in the book.
Existing is one thing in the world, but how does one go about figuring out how
to exist? Or why they exist? Major questions are developed here.
6. She is driving like she has a place to go
instead of a place to find (204).
I am purposely taking this quote way out of
context, because I like the essential meaning of the phrase itself. One of the
best qualities I find in people is direction. I love listening to people when
they talk about their future plans. I certainly do have a lot of people in my
life that aren’t sure where their future will take them, and there is no
problem with that. I just love direction because it doesn’t necessarily mean
you have a destination in mind, but you know you want to get there.
7. Every
imaginary friend can touch the world, I think (213).
I loved this quote. Kids are so stinking
creative with what they come up with. There was a girl at work in the summer that
would spend hours playing with her imaginary friends and be perfectly content
for hours. I’m always going to remember
her. And imagine how cool it would be to be an imaginary friend who can reach
out to a world completely unlike their own.
8. “Maybe we are all somebody’s devil” (258).
I have recently come into contact with an
adult bully (because yes, they exist). In the moment, it is so easy to feel diminished
and victimized. However, with context, and perspective, I have changed my
mindset slightly. We all need to keep in mind that at some point, we have all
been the source of someone’s pain, unintentional or not. You may not even
realize it. A friend once asked me if I had “beef” with anyone. I could not
think of anything, but that does not mean I have not affected people in a
negative way. Think about those people once in a while.
9. “I’d rather have one good adventure than
stay at that hospital forever” (263).
Again, this does not make a lot of sense, but
I promise it’s not sad! It’s an incredible sense of empowerment and sheer carpe
diem. It’s the moment of realization for a character named Oswald. He had to
step out of the only place he knew to take part in a scary destination, but he
did it because he wanted a life to be proud of.
Try it. Get out of that box.
This book has a magic quality to it. Budo’s narration is
fresh and innocent and simple in ways maturity
cannot express. This book touched on issues of existence and love and childhood
and autism in ways I have never experienced before. Overall, my favourite part
was the ways it sparked conversation about imaginary friends. Apparently, I had
an imaginary bear named Boomba and a green cat with three legs named Elsie Merium
named after my grandma. I give this book
5/5 stars! It is now placed on my list of favourite books. 100% suggested.
-Daniella
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