The Imaginarium

by Samara Risner

Paul and Jane Clark live the ideal life. Working together roasting coffee and running a small bakery along with raising their five-year-old daughter Lailey, they thought they had it all. On a day like any other, Paul dropped his daughter off at school and headed to work.
Tragedy struck the small town of Griddylock when a mass shooting took out the small towns only kindergarten class. There were no survivors. As the Clarks learn to cope with the loss of a child, they cling to the hem of Jesus and try their best to hold each other up.
But what if the children hadn't been killed but taken? Lailey and the other nineteen children have been taken to the Imaginarium where Lailey does all she can do to escape the walls that continue to close in around her.
Will she escape and make it back into the loving arms of her parents? Will the parents of Griddylock ever learn the truth and search for their missing children? Or will the Imaginarium claim it's next class of innocent children who are desperately searching for a hero.

Genres: Christian, Christian Fiction

355 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 10, 2021

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

very unique concept

This was a very different book, the concept is totally unique. My only real criticism is that the characters are too one dimensional. Christian people are still human, they have emotions. I’d like to see more depth to the people.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book! Serious wow factor! If you can deal with seeing the possibilities that could happen with child trafficking. I was spellbound from page one but left hanging a bit in the end. The imaginarium is an evil place that kids were take to and abused physically and sexually. The author does it in such a way that does not show it so profound which was nice it left the reader knowing though what was happening. Lailey (Kay) was able to survive the awful fate of that evil place and plans to help the children, but she was only 5 and was brainwashed when there. She got a wonderful "new" family! And she continued through life. Can she make a change? Can't wait to see the second book in the series!

[Aubrye Zimmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of the story really kept my attention, it was interesting and well paced. But once it got to a certain point it fell flat. The writing was very matter of fact and lacked dimension. I would have loved to hear more of the parent’s perspective but it was heavy on Kay’s life and to be honest I found myself wondering what the point of a lot of it was, like why was that chapter included? I didn’t dislike the book by any means, but I just like more complex and detailed writing with a lot of action and plot.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A writing style I have never experienced-not bad, just different. The book kept my attention and I really wanted to know what was going to happen! I liked that she could take a very distressing topic and keep it "light", so the reader isn't too upset. Definite cliffhanger ending! Looking forward to seeing more from this new author.

[Peri Bonner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't wait for her next book!

This book was captivating! Clearly, a new writer as there are numerous errors, ie: no commissioners in the Navy, poles instead of polls. The story was so good I could overlook all that. Keep on writing!

[Beverly Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a couple named Paul and Jane who are trying to live their dream of raising a family and running their coffee shop. They adore their 5 year old daughter, Lailey, and love taking care of her. On what seemed to be your average, normal day, Paul, her father dropped her off to school, having no idea their world was going to completely change in a few short hours. The unthinkable happened in their town, when a shooting happened and supposedly there were no survivors in the kindergarten class. Lailey’s parents are dealing the best they can with the loss of their precious little girl and those of their neighbors and friends, by holding on to their hope in Jesus. Although they are clinging to Jesus, what they do not know is that the children are very much alive and are taken to a secret place where she is being reprogrammed to be put in the arms of new parents. Will Lailey be able to escape and go back home to her parents or will she end up forgetting who her real parents were and think that the ones she is with were always her parents? This story had me trying to figure out the mystery from the very beginning. It keeps you guessing and wanting to know more at every page you turn. Samara Risner did a wonderful job at making you feel like you know the characters personally, and completely draws you in to the plot of the story.I read all through the night because I couldn’t put it down as I had to see what would happen next. Some parts of the story is dark and deals with human trafficking, child molestation is insinuated, and one part about a husband and wife relationship although done in a subtle way, was still not necessary for my imagination, so this may be slightly much for some teenagers or those who have had to deal with any of these issues. The book was clean of language and anything else, and I would highly recommend this story and author. I can’t wait till the next book in the series comes out as it all came to a ending I never expected in a million years, Lol! One thing that I caught in the book that Samara may or may not intended was how I saw God working behind the scenes in certain characters lives, in order to work things out for their good as believers, even though they did not see it at that point and for God’s Glory. That in itself made this story so interesting and intriguing. I love seeing the hand of God in Christian Fiction as it draws you closer to God in your walk with him. This book is a must read in my opinion, and you definitely will not be disappointed.

[Shawna Bodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book! Different but very good. Can’t wait to read the next book!

[Lauri Gentry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing a review that is not entirely positive is not my favorite thing to do but I am going to be honest with this one. There were parts that were on the edge of my seat suspense page turner. The early parts of this book involving the Imaginarium were quite intriguing, but then the book went off with the mc having the perfect life and seemingly forgetting all the trauma she went through as a child. Some parts moved along at rapid pace while the parts of the parents who thought they lost their child were left behind. Plot holes throughout. I almost couldn't get past the part that ALL the children that were victims of a school shooting were said to have been unrecognizable. huh? Wouldn't DNA test have been done? I would have liked to have seen the MC try to investigate her past earlier and maybe even some near misses being reunited with her birth parents. I always appreciate faith being part of a storyline. I think the author has the ability to write a great story, this one just missed for me.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a unique book. After reading the description and knowing the subject matter, I was a bit unsure how I would did with this book. The author deals with a difficult, yet important, subject matter in a sensitive way. She doesn’t shy away from it, but she doesn’t make it uncomfortable either. I felt she handled well. This is a heartbreaking story, yet it’s also filled with hope. I look forward to the next book.

[Bonnie Stout · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

I will anxiously wait for more books in the series. I chose the book because Ms. Risner is a "local" author.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard topic but written well. There are some grammar issues in the Kindle but not author's fault. Reading #2 now.

[Jordan Thurman · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a typical school day for Lailey Clark. She was eager to go to school to participate in the activities they were doing for "Little Red Riding Hood." However, it turned out this day would be far from typical, as Lailey would never see her parents again. Paul and Jane are informed that Lailey's entire kindergarten class were casualties of a mass shooting. While Paul and Jane move through their lives trying to figure out where to go from here, little do they know that their daughter and the rest of her class are still very much alive in an underground organization: The Imaginarium. Though afraid, Lailey puts on a brave face, knowing she will have to become exactly who the powers at be want her to be if she has any hope of making it out alive.

I really had to sit on this one for a bit to think of what to say, and to be honest, I don't really think I know exactly what to say still. Let's start with this: I knew very little about this book going in. I was intrigued because I saw it promoted at my library as a book by a local author. The premise sounded interesting to me, and while I did read in the description that the Clarks "cling to the them of Jesus," I didn't realize how much emphasis was going to be placed on that rather than the actual storyline. Don't get me wrong, I am a person of faith myself, but I found myself put off by the way faith was written in this book. It was often very cheesy and effortlessly easy to have faith despite very difficult circumstances. It made it hard to relate to, and in some instances I believe had undertones that a problematic such as prosperity gospel (Paul and Jane are financially blessed to the point of their local coffee shop becoming a chain bigger than Starbucks because of their obedience to Jesus), white saviorism (a whole village in Honduras is employed because of this coffee shop), and promoting the Christian=Republican narrative. It also seemed like whatever the characters prayed for happened.

Another big thing about this book is it requires a LOT of suspension of disbelief. I mean... A LOT. More than I think I have the capacity to give. Believing that a whole town is just going to accept that they would not be receiving the remains of their children EVER and believing that New York is going to vote Republican were probably two of the biggest ones that I just struggled with. When you have things like this sprinkled in with just other random things that I find hard to believe (the perfect answer to prayers always, the Mary Sue main character that is Lailey, etc.), it made this book very hard for me to enjoy, as I do enjoy a degree of immersion and relatability in my books.

What I will say that was done well is that Samara Risner really builds this unique approach to human trafficking that I think many would never consider. The idea of children being trafficked for private adoptions and organ harvesting is not something I have seen done and it really had me interested in more of the operations of The Imaginarium and wanting them to be taken down. But sadly, we don't really get that in this book. There is a lot of build up and set up for that being something that potentially happens in the next book, but I wish there would have been more with that this book, as it felt like a lot of just going through Lailey's (well Kay at this point) life. I also am curious about the track the main character went on in order to battle The Imaginarium. I guess it makes sense, but I mean... not really to me at the same time.

Overall, I see the potential where someone would really enjoy this book, and I could see myself enjoying it more had it been just a little different. I am glad to have supported a local author.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of the book got me hooked. I got bored later by the romance and other details that detracted from what drew me in, the Imaginarium. I wanted to see justice. I found myself skimming through excessive wedding and home decor details that didn’t interest me. Apparently there is a book 2. I may read it with the hope that justice is achieved in the 2nd book. There are grammatical errors throughout the Kindle e-book.

[Miki Weaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were definitely page turner moments that kept me want to continue, but there were also some lengthy descriptions that could have been eliminated. Good premise and plot, however, I found myself distracted by the typos in the electronic book as well as the misused words (i.e. poles instead of polls). I would hope that the next book will have better proofreading.

[Lisa Slattery · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first heard of this book I was really excited it was written by a local author close to me. But really halfway through I got bored. It was very repetitive as in coffee this coffee that. And dragged out about Kay’s life. But not updates on her parents life. Wanted more detail on their life’s. The end kinda cuts it off. Not how I thought it would end.

[Ester]

I believe that the story may be good. But once I've realised what is it about, I couldn't stomach it.

[Lilah Risner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, just wow. This book is truly amazing. I could not stop reading it. The story is so good, and I loved the romance. Very suspenseful, and intriguing. I highly recommend it!

[Marbeth Skwarczynski · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author takes a conspiracy theory and uses it to jumpstart a novel with an intriguing premise. The first half of the book starts strong and keeps the suspense and the story moving in a two-pronged POV. The second half of the book jumps years forward and focuses primarily on one POV. The conflict of the early pages morphs into best-case scenarios for each of the characters.