Synopsis: Many kids have an imaginary friend, but Jane Venezuela White has an imaginary enemy named Bubba. When life becomes unfair or Jane screws up, she writes nasty notes to Bubba, blaming him for everything.
Review: If you're looking for a fun, quirky book where not a whole heck of a lot happens, then Imaginary Enemy is the book for you. Jane White is as average as her name. She is the oldest product of her father's second marriage. She has an older half-brother, Luke, that she idolizes. She has two younger full siblings, Zander and Carmella, that drive her slightly batty. She's not exactly one of the popular kids in school, but she's no dork either. She's never the teacher's pet, but she doesn't require summer school. In other words, Jane falls middle of the road in just about everything she does, but she does have one eccentricity. Instead of an imaginary friend, Jane has an imaginary enemy named Bubba, short for Beezlebub. Since the second grade, Jane has taken to writing to Bubba under the pen name Gabriel whenever her life feels unjust. Jane doesn't want to take responsibility for much of anything. She'd much rather have the carefree attitude of a total slacker. Of course, that's what makes Jane's life difficult. While she would like to have an I-don't-care attitude, she does care. She worries about what her best-friend Emma thinks of her. She worries about what the deMichael boys next door think about her, particularly what Sharp deMichael thinks about her. She worries about having the right hair. She even worries about what her parents think of her, not that she'd tell them that. And she really starts to worry when her imaginary enemy writes back to her. How can a figment of her imagination be responding to her letters, and how is it possible that Bubba wants to meet her face to face? Can Jane handle the responsibility of dealing with her lifelong foe? After all, it's not as if Jane's had much practice taking responsibility for anything in the past.
So while Jane's story doesn't exactly whisk you away from the woes of teenage every day life, there is something charming about how Jane deals with the ups and downs of being a 16-year-old. Jane is like a soda with a twist of lime. Overall she's a pretty good daughter, friend, and girlfriend, but occasionally she's a bit wicked too, and on those days I wouldn't want to cross her or her imaginary enemy.
If you like this novel, you might also like This Lullaby (12+) by Sarah Dessen.
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