Beautiful prose, a mesmerizing setting, and a mysterious premise are, in the end, not quite enough to make up for the minimal character development and slow-moving plot in this ambitious and convoluted novel. IMAGINARY GIRLS is beautifully written, but the lack of attachment I felt for any of the characters meant that I actually had to struggle to finish this book.
The jacket copy for IMAGINARY GIRLS doesnt tell you much, and its better if you go into the book knowing just the little you know. Nova Ren Suma writes in a languid style similar to Sarah Dessen when she is feeling particularly poignant, meaning that the small-town reservoir-side setting and the weirdness of the situation is well-evoked. IMAGINARY GIRLS is a very atmospheric noveland even though its hard express the significance of the setting, its also probably impossible to imagine this story set elsewhere.
The fact that IMAGINARY GIRLS seems to focus more on beautiful prose than character development means that the charactersnot the least of which is Chloe, the protagonist/narratorcome off as only vaguely intriguing, their interestingness born more out of the roles they are assigned in the story than they themselves. Chloe in particular is like a spluttering match next to Rubys Mag-lite glowand yet Rubys magnetic persona, unfortunately, anchors its credibility in the telling of her magnetism rather than the showing of it. Chloe waxes eloquent for so long on Ruby this, Ruby that, that, in the flesh, Ruby is actually not as intriguing as Chloe makes her sound.
Chloe suffers from everyone is more interesting than me-itis. In short, Chloe has no personality. She has no defining characteristics besides being the narrator and Rubys younger sister, which I suppose is partially the point, but then she doesnt grow a whit throughout the course of the novel. Why is it all too easy for protagonists in contemporarily set novels to be passive and bland? I really wish authors would catch themselves when they are writing bubbles as main characters: see-through substanceless creatures that threaten to disappear into nothing at the slightest touch.
IMAGINARY GIRLS didnt work for me primarily because of these reasons, but I know that the majority of other readers have really loved this book, so dont take my word for it. I wonder, though, if there are or will be other readers out there who had the same problems with this book as I did.
The jacket copy for IMAGINARY GIRLS doesnt tell you much, and its better if you go into the book knowing just the little you know. Nova Ren Suma writes in a languid style similar to Sarah Dessen when she is feeling particularly poignant, meaning that the small-town reservoir-side setting and the weirdness of the situation is well-evoked. IMAGINARY GIRLS is a very atmospheric noveland even though its hard express the significance of the setting, its also probably impossible to imagine this story set elsewhere.
The fact that IMAGINARY GIRLS seems to focus more on beautiful prose than character development means that the charactersnot the least of which is Chloe, the protagonist/narratorcome off as only vaguely intriguing, their interestingness born more out of the roles they are assigned in the story than they themselves. Chloe in particular is like a spluttering match next to Rubys Mag-lite glowand yet Rubys magnetic persona, unfortunately, anchors its credibility in the telling of her magnetism rather than the showing of it. Chloe waxes eloquent for so long on Ruby this, Ruby that, that, in the flesh, Ruby is actually not as intriguing as Chloe makes her sound.
Chloe suffers from everyone is more interesting than me-itis. In short, Chloe has no personality. She has no defining characteristics besides being the narrator and Rubys younger sister, which I suppose is partially the point, but then she doesnt grow a whit throughout the course of the novel. Why is it all too easy for protagonists in contemporarily set novels to be passive and bland? I really wish authors would catch themselves when they are writing bubbles as main characters: see-through substanceless creatures that threaten to disappear into nothing at the slightest touch.
IMAGINARY GIRLS didnt work for me primarily because of these reasons, but I know that the majority of other readers have really loved this book, so dont take my word for it. I wonder, though, if there are or will be other readers out there who had the same problems with this book as I did.
