I Will Kill Your Imaginary Friend For $200
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💀 Horror 🤣 Humor 🧠 Mental Illness
🚧 High Stakes 🚀 Alternate Realities
Synopsis
To lonely eight-year-old Kay Washington the worst thing in the world is silence. That’s why Eddie Video makes the perfect imaginary friend. He’s smart, rambunctious, and loves pulling pranks. But most important, he’s never ever quiet.
Forty-something, immigrant Ivanon is a contract killer with an unusual imaginary friends who’ve overstayed their welcome. His only rule, no kids—kids need their imaginary friends.
But when one of Eddie Video’s “pranks” goes too far and lands Kay in the hospital, Ivanon agrees maybe exceptions can be made. After all, rent is due. But Ivanon and Kay will soon learn Eddie Video is no ordinary imaginary friend; he is something much, much darker.
A balance of comedy and catharsis, this dual-narrative tackles both the fear of growing up and the scars our childhood leaves behind.
“For single working parents, their lonely kids, and the deranged adults they become.”
Favorites
When I tell you that this is such an incredibly ridiculous story, and yet one of the most insightful I have ever read, I mean it. Never has a book had me cackling so hard - like hold my stomach, belly laughing at the writing style and word choices. If you were to take someone's internal monologue and remove the filter that sifts through the inappropriate thoughts to put on paper, that is what reading this felt like.
The narrator is blunt and plain-spoken, which is helpful in deciphering the two "worlds" our setting takes place in. The plot twists and surprises come from these sudden transitions between realities - one action is being naively described in the imaginary world of Caper Town, while something much more sinister is occurring at the exact time in reality. These unanticipated shifts are such a remarkably unique way in escalating the story and are truly so unsettling. There were many of these instances that I needed to put the book down and reread, just to ensure that what I was reading, was in fact real.
Violence and gore have a heavy presence in this story, though in two very different ways. To picture a grown man beating the ever living sh*t out of invisible imaginary creatures is absolutely hysterical. It is so incredibly profound, that I had such a difficult time trying to recount these scenes to my partner. My attempts to do so made me sound certifiably insane; which I may be after reading this. On the other hand, a huge takeaway from this book included the awareness and reality of self-harm/depression. It can be difficult to explain or understand the effects of invisible illnesses, but Robert Brockway did so in such a horrific and imaginative way. Desperation, helplessness, exhaustion, and hopelessness are all manifested in an imaginary friend.
“With their support, Sean can do anything. It’s no problem to complete all the rest of the patterns over his whole body by the time his dad comes back. His dad sucks in air, like he’s going to scream. But all the red goes neon, and the screen washes out, and Space Sean blasts off.”
Final Thoughts
I have a feeling that this book will be one I come back to for a long time. It's comical, gory, and nonsensical. I have shared this plotline with so many people, readers and non-readers alike. I simply cannot get it out of my head and HIGHLY recommend. A big thank you to Edelweiss, Page Street Horror, and Robert Brockway for the early copy.
“It shouldn’t be so hard to explain your insides to people you love.”
