The Collectors (The Collectors #1)
by Jacqueline West (Author)
2019 Schneider Family Book Award Honor Book
Even the smallest wish can be dangerous. That's why the Collectors are always keeping watch.
Van has always been an outsider. Most people don't notice him. But he notices them. And he notices the small trinkets they drop, or lose, or throw away--that's why his collection is full of treasures. Then one day, Van notices a girl stealing pennies from a fountain, and everything changes. He follows the girl, Pebble, and uncovers an underground world full of wishes and the people who collect them.
Apparently not all wishes are good and even good wishes often have unintended consequences--and the Collectors have made it their duty to protect us. But they aren't the only ones who have their eyes on the world's wishes--and they may not be the good guys, after all.
Jacqueline West, author of the New York Times-bestselling Books of Elsewhere series, draws readers into a story about friendship, magic, and the gray area between good and evil.
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ALA/Booklist
Kirkus
Although the plot gets a little bogged down in comings and goings and a few characters seem extraneous, West has constructed a fast-paced and engrossing tale of a boy wrestling with the consequences of power and responsibility.... Readers may not wish to leave this magical world
Publishers Weekly
With an opera singer mother who performs around the world, 11-year-old Van Markson is used to being a new kid, and his taste in books and movies, along with "a tiny blue hearing aid behind each ear," sometimes set him apart at school. Van is also good at noticing things that other people overlook, and when he spots a girl, accompanied by an "almost silver, very bushy-tailed" squirrel, plunging face-first into a fountain, a series of events draw Van into a magical underground world where he is caught in the middle of a secret war. West (the Books of Elsewhere series) has created a captivating mythology around wishes, including cuddly-turned-dangerous Wish Eaters (not unlike gremlins) as well as thoughtful explorations of power and the unexpected, sometimes negative, consequences of good intentions. Van's realization that his skill of noticing is a valuable strength, especially when hearing challenges feel to him like a shortcoming, is a gentle, triumphant reminder that being different doesn't correspond to weakness. First in a planned duology, West's magical adventure offers humor and warmhearted adventure. Ages 8-12. Agent: Danielle Chiotti, Upstart Crow Literary. (Oct.)
Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
Hearing impaired
JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Friendship
Fantasy
People with disabilities
JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / Gener
JUVENILE FICTION / Fantasy & Magic
Wishes
Collectors and collecting
