I’ve followed SacconeJolys for years and found this book a good read into who Jonathan is.

Some parts I found hard to read but as a whole I enjoyed it and would recommend.

Jonathan Joly’s “All My Friends Are Invisible” is a book that falls short of its potential, with a patchy narration that hampers the overall reading experience. While the concept behind the story holds promise, the execution fails to deliver, resulting in a two-star rating.

The book follows the protagonist as they navigate the complexities of friendship and the invisible friends that populate their life. The idea of invisible friends and exploring their impact on an individual’s life is intriguing. However, the patchy narration hinders the reader’s ability to fully engage with the characters and their experiences.

The writing style in “All My Friends Are Invisible” lacks consistency, leading to disjointed storytelling. The narrative jumps between different timelines and perspectives without clear transitions, making it difficult to follow and connect with the characters on a deeper level. The lack of cohesion and clarity undermines the potential emotional impact of the story.

The characters themselves feel underdeveloped and fail to leave a lasting impression. While the concept of invisible friends holds promise, the execution of their portrayal feels lacking. The reader is left craving a deeper exploration of their motivations, personalities, and interactions with the protagonist. As a result, it becomes challenging to fully invest in their stories.

The patchy narration further dampens the pacing of the book. Moments that could have been emotionally resonant or climactic end up feeling rushed or disconnected. The lack of a consistent narrative thread prevents the story from building momentum and keeps the reader at a distance.

In conclusion, “All My Friends Are Invisible” by Jonathan Joly falls short of its potential due to patchy narration and underdeveloped characters. While the concept of invisible friends provides an interesting premise, the execution lacks cohesion and emotional depth. The disjointed storytelling and lack of character development hinder the reader’s ability to fully connect with the narrative. As a result, the book receives a two-star rating.

I really wanted to appreciate this book, yet I found it almost impossible to get in to. The narration felt all over and lacking in sincerity which wasn’t at all what I anticipated given the emotional journey the author is taking us through.

I couldn’t really get into this book. It felt a bit all over the place and I found it hard to focus.

After following Jonathan for years online it was great to see him come into his own in the last few years. I loved how this book felt like he was speaking to me and not too polished. It is a subject area i don't know a lot about so this was interesting to find out more and learn more about Jonathan as well.

This was an interesting insight into the life of a child exploring LQBTQ+ in 1980’s Ireland. Although it felt slightly fabricated in places.
Johnathan recounted his experiences in great detail and this helped me to feel like I was present and watching these events happen in real life.
The book ended a little too abruptly and it would have been nice if it circled back to the present day which is where it started.

This gave me a real insight into Jonathan’s life and why he is so accepting of Edie.

I loved it so much, but it was heartbreaking too..

Such an important read though, thank you Jonathan for allowing us all to experience it and opening up to us in such a raw and honest way.

honestly terrible. confused narration which seems to change in tone throughout the book. it reads as if it was written by multiple people. the story is interesting and important but unfortunately the plot didn't save the awful writing

This was not for me at all. I am aware of the Saccone Jolys from You Tube and Instagram and thought this book might interest me but I found it really disappointing. It was really poorly written and just not believeable at all. I think that a lot of it is fictional and not Jonathans actual story. It just does not ring true to me at all.

Having followed the family on instagram over the past year or so I wasn't sure whether this book was for me.
BUT I tried it anyway and i'm so glad because it really helped me understand how different we can all be and how we really do need to tolerate everyone's differences.
Thank you for writing it Jonathan, more people should hear your story.

Jonathan Joly, known widely as one of social media's most successful content creators, shares the secret he's kept hidden for many years: the beautiful world he has retreated to time and time again when life was unbearable, populated by his invisible friends…I read it in one day as I just couldn’t put it down.

What a thought-provoking and interesting narrative. I have never encounter anything like this so always eager to listen and learn, thankful for the courage it took to write this

Sadly the poor structure and writing made this read difficult to endure. The subject topic isn't exactly roses and you know this going in but all together I just couldn't finish the book. Also if your struggling with mental health issues just don't read this. The authors beliefs and advice could be dangerous honestly.

I hate to admit that I had quite low expectations going into this one after reading some reviews of the structure and writing. I'm glad that I was proven wrong! I think that the author had a very engaging way of writing which made me not want to put this book down and, most importantly, they depicted the story of their childhood in a really impactful way. I think this is a really important story that I'm glad has been written, and I really hope it gets into the hands of those readers who need this book and will benefit from it most.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued when I saw this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect. My understanding is that this is Joly’s first book, and for that, it’s not bad. If this was written as fiction based on his life, I think it would read far better. I found it a little confusing. It’s autobiographical, almost written like a memoir, yet reads like a fictional book. There is in-depth description and constant dialogue. I really think that Joly could be a talented fictional author, perhaps in fantasy genre. I thought his story telling was captivating.

However, as this is supposed to be an account of Joly’s childhood, I find it so bizarre that he can retell his entire life from the age of 3 with such precision. For example, I couldn’t tell you what I wore when I was 3 and exactly what people said and did and how I felt. It seems odd. It makes you wonder the validity of it and makes it feel like a story. I think if needed to either be written as a memoir or a fictional book (based on a true story). It’s a messy combination of both. I’m not sure how an editor read this and thought it was a good idea?

I do want to say that I feel for him and felt heartbroken for his experiences. I hope that he’s managed to get the help he needs and can continue being his authentic self with his family, who sound lovely.

This book is just incredible. The book just feels so personal,you feel you are Jonathan and all the other personas of the imaginary friends because of the way it was written you get so immersed in the story, like you are there with them. I was expecting it to be along the lines of an autobiography but it has more of a story feel to it (not in a bad way at all) about their life. It was harrowing and heartbreaking at times to hear what poor Jonathan as a child had to go through. The book is so well written it kept me wanting more each chapter so that I just didn’t want to put the book down. I really enjoyed it and it was not what I was expecting at all but it gave me a feeling of being there and feeling what Jonathan did back then.

The book and its content is all over the place, there is no structure, it bounces from one story to another. Not sure how much help the author has got from writing this but from this small snippet it would appear he needs much more help to deal with things.

I have been following Jonathan and Anna for over 10 years now, and while growing less and less interested and enthusiastic of family vloggers, I've been actively following them on social media.
Hearing about this book from Jonathan is what made me want to read it to better understand his cryptic messages.
I would say this was a very interesting and eye opening read, and also extremely emotional. Even though it reads more like fiction, it makes it hard not to connect and empathise with J. and his experiences. I think this book was written with a very important goal in mind, and I can see how it will help other people to better deal and process their traumas and their own identities.
While I enjoyed the overall experience, I think it could have been better edited and overall written.

*Disclaimer - I have been watching/following the.Sacconejolys and have loved them for years. This will continue regardless of my review.*

My Friends are Invisible, 2✨. A memoir by Jonathon Joly of his identity during his childhood. As a big Sacconejolys fan I was interested in reading this and was kindly offered a pre release from NetGalley. The book touches on very real topics such as child mental health and identity. But I think I wanted to know more how this had effected his adult life, which wasn't the book's focus. It was also hard to read between real life and the fantasy life he lives, which I guess is part of the underlying message, but allows the book to read like a fiction book. Maybe others would relate more to this book but personally I didn't, making it hard to fully connect with the real life elements being told and left me feeling like I'd just read a story about a fantasy world. But I am super nosey so would probably read a follow up of his adult life if one was written. I also cant take away from the importance some people may find in his writing about mental health and child identity, and the story Jonathan had to live through. Personally I was just left a bit flat and confused by this unique read. But I am glad I read it and it was very interesting to be welcomed into the world Jonathan had and has and I do hope there is a follow up of how he navigated life within his teen-adult years.

[As a disclaimer, I used to watch The SacconeJolys on youtube for several years but have since grown out of it and also gotten more critical of family vloggers, however I still follow Jonathan and Anna on instagram and watch their ig stories almost every day. None of this will influence how I review this book though.]

I'm not sure what I expected going into this book, but it definitely read more like fiction than non-fiction. It's hard for me to believe that JJ can recount all these stories, especially to that detail, but then again I never experienced trauma like he did as a young child so can't really speak on this as I'm not a trained mental health professional.
The language the book is written in seems a bit too "easy" for me, and I feel like an editor could have been more helpful or generally have someone double-check things as there are still several spelling errors (which can happen, I know, but they always bug me, sorry!) and e.g. his eldest two kids' ages in the prologue are quite off.
One thing that others seem to be criticizing a lot are the changing tenses throughout the book, but honestly it wasn't an issue for me. The chapters are usually written in present tense, as kid Jonathan is telling his story, and the memories he's throwing in are obviously from the past, therefore written in past tense.

Maybe I'm too critical of the book, maybe I'm not critical enough, but I still liked it and would suggest everyone going into this with an open mind.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eArc of this book for an honest review.