Incredible novel! I don't know how to put into words how much I loved this novel. I would venture to say that it now rates in my top 10 of all time along with Mary Chase's Loretta Mason Potts, Morag Prunty's Recipes for a Perfect Marriage, and Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. Dicks's novel is about Max, a 6-year-old with autism, and his adventures, which include being bullied, driving his parents to distraction, and eventually being abducted. The story is narrated by Budo, Max's imaginary friend, who loves him, watches out for him, and helps him to navigate the social world. Budo has been imagined to walk through walls and doors and to look like a real boy, but he cannot manipulate anything in the physical world, like door knobs or telephones, and he needs no sleep. He cannot communicate with anyone "real" except for Max. He can, however, see and speak with other imaginary friends, some of whom are half-formed humanoids while others are shaped like hair bows or spoons.
Budo is Max's protector and his guide, but worries about what will happen to him when Max no longer needs him. Will he fade away to nothing? Will he go to heaven? All of these questions and fears take a back seat when Max really needs Budo. This is a story about intense loyalty and caring, about an imaginary friend who gives his boy the courage to reach out from isolation and connect with the real world. Matthew Dicks has a stunning ability to imagine and to paint a picture so brilliant that it is almost blinding. This sounds like a cute little book, but you need to read it to discover that it is much, much, more. I'd recommend it to absolutely everyone, especially if you have someone even a little bit autistic in your life!
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