Imaginary Things

Imaginary Things by Andrea Lochen   400 pages

Every parent, at one time or another, wishes they could read their child’s mind. If that were possible, life would be so much easier. For Anna Jennings, this wish almost comes true. Although she cannot read four-year-old David’s mind, she can see his imagination, and it scares the bejeezus out of her.

Anna and David have returned to her grandparents’ rural Salsburg, Wisconsin, home. Anna spent several summers and one school year with Duffy and Winston, when she was too much for her mom to handle. Seems like Salsburg was the one place she could go when she had nowhere to go.

Anna, now twenty-two, is completely broke, having lost her job in Milwaukee. Divorced from David’s father, Patrick, she is trying to stabilize their life after dealing with Patrick’s mental illness.

David didn’t have many friends in Milwaukee and now he has none. So he does what most kids do, he invents an imaginary friend. Not just one, but two. They take the form of David’s obsession, dinosaurs. They seem to always be nearby, along with a black mist that has to spell trouble.

Speaking of trouble, guess who’s moved back to Salsburg and is living with his mother next door? Jaime. Anna’s best friend from her teenage years.

Author Lochen has created a whimsical tale in which love, friendship, and what really matters are the key elements. While this is not a heart-in-your-mouth thriller, it is a captivating novel that made me keep turning the page. I expected a dramatic scene involving the dinosaurs, but it never transpired, leaving me a tad disappointed.  However that shouldn’t stop anyone from reading this sweet slice of magical realism that is sure to resonate with them as much as it did with me.