Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

5 stars

Chloe’s older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone wants to be or be with. When a night at the local reservoir results in Chloe finding a dead body of her classmate, London Hayes, Chloe is sent away to live with her father. A father she has never known and has been just as absent in her life as her mother. Ruby will do anything to get Chloe back and when she finally does two years later, Chloe notices her sister isn’t all what she seems. The relationship between Chloe and Ruby seemed like a normal one that you would expect from two sisters that haven’t had a parent in their life, but throughout the story it seems more toxic than sweet. Nova Ren Suma created something that I had never experienced before. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but I was in for a treat. The writing was flawless and beautiful. Suma has a way of writing that creates a gothic tone to Imaginary Girls and brings the world created to life. I’m still kind of speechless about this book. It was so amazing all I can think about is praise. The book was flawless. I know I’m saying flawless a lot, but it’s because no other word describes this book.


The main female character is Chloe. Chloe is Ruby’s little sister and that’s pretty much who Chloe is. Chloe does what Ruby says and she never argues. Chloe does start to come out from Ruby’s wrath and become her own person, but she doesn’t really make much a drastic change. Chloe is a realistic character. I think anyone that would be raised by someone like Ruby would be just like Chloe. I think that’s what makes Imaginary Girls so realistic aside from the impossibility.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 9.5

There wasn’t a main male character in Imaginary Girls. I love romance, but Imaginary Girls doesn’t need romance. It had suspense and everything else to make the novel complete without a love interest. There was a love interest though. His name was Owen. Owen is a jerk and I’m glad Chloe didn’t stick around fawning over him. I just wish she would’ve realized he was a jerk sooner. This book is swoon worthy all on its own and doesn’t need a male hero or protagonist to make it a great novel.


The Villain- Ruby is definitely the villain of the novel, but even though she’s the villain it’s hard for me to dislike Ruby. Ruby is such a brilliant character. She seems like your typical queen bee, but she’s so much more. Ruby is manipulative, vindictive, protective, controlling, and pretty much everything you would expect from a girl with so much power and control. Ruby reminds me of Regina George and every other mean girl I’ve seen in movies or on TV, but she’s also different from the other girls. Ruby has a certain power over the people of her town that all she has do is snap her fingers and you do it. Ruby is probably one of the most complex and brilliant villains I’ve ever read about. I don’t want to say too much about her because I don’t want to spoil the novel. I find it ironic how the girl that couldn’t be caged in the end was caged and trapped.

Villain Scale: 10

Character Scale: 10

Imaginary Girls was pure brilliance. I would have never expected this book to be the way it was and I’m glad I picked it up at my library. I strongly recommend it. That's all I'm going to say because I don't want to give anything away.


Cover Thoughts: This cover is absolutely gorgeous. It’s one of my favorite covers ever.