THE IMAGINARY, by A.F. Harrold

The story: You'd think being someone's imaginary friend would be a pretty safe gig. And being Amanda's imaginary friend means that Rudger has better adventures than anybody else's--until they meet the sinister Mr. Bunting. Now Rudger is involved in their most dangerous adventure yet: trying to keep from being swallowed whole while avoiding being forgotten and fading as a result. If he's not careful, it'll be the end of the line for Rudger...and Amanda won't even remember he's gone.

June Cleaver's ratings: Language G; Violence PG; Sexual content G; Nudity G; substance abuse G; magic and the occult PG; GLBT content G; adult themes (some sequences might be scary for younger kids) PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: This story is a charmer! Other reviews I've read rightly compare it Roald Dahl, and with good reason: there's the same kind of easy-to-understand yet clever language, a similar build-up of tension as the story progresses, and even a couple of genuinely creepy parts. I liked it a lot! Truthfully, the characters seem to be more for upper elementary readers than for middle school--but since you still find Roald Dahl getting checked out in MS, this'll still find a place in my library.