As I mentioned some time ago, I don't often read (much less, buy, but I did) girlie books, but this one (based on its description) didn't seem to try to hide the fact it was girlie by having some quasi-independent heroine who is witty and charming and loves to shop and works for a major ad/PR agency. Instead, it has an intriguing premise--little girl has imaginary friend, he leaves her on her ninth birthday because that's the "rule," she runs in to him 23 years later and they fall in love. Simple and cute, right? Well, it was. And like most of James Patterson's girlie books, it was a short, simple, fun read.
However. (You knew it was coming, right?) Patterson and Charbonnet leave about three major loose ends to the story, which are three loose ends too many. I'll just delve into one for now. Michael's existence and mortality are touched on often, but they are never fully explained. It just felt messy. I wish the authors had realized what a great idea they had and then fully developed it. They don't even explain how and when some people can see imaginary friends--instead, we only know that, well, sometimes people can see imaginary friends and sometimes they can't. This is just one example of the flawed fantasy within the book.
There is also too much pop culture infused in this book for my taste. A dude who loves Corrine Bailey Rae, seriously? A little bit of name dropping goes a long way for me, and there was quite a lot in this book.
All in all, I'd give the book three out of five girlie-book stars. The idea was and is fabulous. I almost hope someone else would come along, rip off the idea, and make a longer book (perhaps a series?) with the same premise. It'll be like Twilight in reverse--Stephenie Meyer had the fresh, new vamp idea, made it great, then other authors tried to jetski along in her wake and failed miserably (not necessarily in sales but in execution). Maybe someone can save Patterson and Charbonnet. Any takers?
