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My quote for the Collector book: “Have you ever realized rules are meant there for a reason? Break them all and pay the price.”
My quote for the Collected book: “Have you ever noticed that sometimes things seem alive in your presence? And sometimes it’s better to leave things alone the way they are.”
Reading age
9-12
Genre
Horror fiction
Publisher
Scholastic Inc.
Publication date
September 1, 2020
The Collector’s summary of the book
After Josie’s mom got fired, she and her little sister, Anna, must live with her grandma. Her grandma has three rules: 1. No dolls in the house. 2. Never leave your windows open after dark. 3. Never go near the house in the woods. Josie thought the rules were strange. Her first school day was horrible. Everyone laughed at her and picked on her until she made a new friend, Vanessa. The bullies started avoiding Josie, and they seemed to fear Vanessa. Josie’s day ended with nightmares of a house in the woods, a woman, and dolls. Hundreds of them. Her second day of school was better. She and her sister, Anna, got to go to Vanessa’s. They followed her into the woods- the one she wasn’t supposed to. They saw her nightmare’s house, and Vanessa gave them a doll gift. Will she break the final rule?
My thoughts about the Collector
The collector felt like solving a puzzle. It felt more interesting than spooky. I felt like I shouldn’t read the next chapter because I will be spooked, and it is 9:00 at night.
The Collected’s summary of the book
(Spoiler alert: please read the first book, The Collector): After their yearlong visit to her grandma, little sister Anna is excited to see her old dolls, but Josie throws them all into the trash. They have to spend five years like this, with no friends or dolls. But then her grandma died, and they had to sort the house. The house is a mess. Almost everything in the place is broken or has the words: she must never return written on them. But now Josie’s been meaner than ever. She still made Anna follow the rules grandma made. So Anna does pay back by breaking the rules. She goes to the house in the woods and finds one familiar doll – Beryl.
My thoughts about the Collected
Even better (scarier) than the first book, this story will make you stay up late at night. The puzzle is already solved in this second book, The Collected; you wish the main character would solve it.
My rating
The Collector:
The Collected
Even 12/10!
About the author
“K. R. Alexander is the pseudonym for author Alex R. Kahler.As K. R., he writes creepy middle-grade books for brave young readers as Alex — his actual first name — writes fantasy novels for adults and teens. In both cases, he loves writing fiction drawn from true life experiences. (But this book can’t be real . . . can it?)Alex has traveled the world collecting strange and fascinating tales, from the misty moors of Scotland to the humid jungles of Hawaii. He is always on the move, believing there is much more to life than what meets the eye. He looks forward to scaring you again . . . soon.” – Book Depository.
More by the author
- Haunt Me
- And so many more!
