Imaginary Enemy (by Julie Gonzalez)

Less a story than a series of loosely related moments through the years, this follows Jane from second grade through high school, as she tries to avoid work, avoid learning, and avoid taking responsibility for her own actions. She more or less accomplishes this last by blaming them on an imaginary enemy named Bubba, to whom she writes nasty letters.

There are two glaring flaws here. The first is that the main character, Jane, simply isn't very likable. Often books about kids who seem to be brats on the outside make them likable by letting readers see them from the inside. But Jane isn't very likable inside either. She's not horrible -- she's just the kind of person you'd rather not spend much time with.

The second is that this is not a story. It's a fairly disjointed series of vignettes that don't really lead anywhere, and are only loosely held together by the gimmick of the imaginary enemy, which doesn't seem to have any real purpose other than to show another unpleasant side of Jane. Between these two flaws, there's not really much to draw readers in and keep them reading.

Author: Julie Gonzalez
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication date: March 23, 2008
Number of pages: 241
Hardcover price: $15.00
Read Aloud: 12
Read Alone: 12