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The Collectors audiobook

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The Collectors Audiobook Summary

Even the smallest wish can be dangerous. That’s why the Collectors are always keeping watch.

The Collectors sweeps listeners into a hidden world where wishes are stolen and dreams have a price. Fast-paced, witty, and riveting, this contemporary fantasy adventure has magic woven through every page.

It’s the first book in a two-book series from Jacqueline West, the New York Times-bestselling author of The Books of Elsewhere series. For fans of Serafina and the Black Cloak, The Isle of the Lost, and The Secret Keepers.

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. The Collectors is for fans of Cassie Beasley’s Circus Mirandus and Jonathan Auxier’s The Night Gardener.

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The Collectors Audiobook Narrator

Ramon de Ocampo is the narrator of The Collectors audiobook that was written by Jacqueline West

Jacqueline West is the author of the New York Times-bestselling middle grade series The Books of Elsewhere, the Schneider Family Book Award Honor Book The Collectors, and several other novels for young readers and teens. An award-winning poet and occasional actress, she lives with her family in Red Wing, Minnesota.


About the Author(s) of The Collectors

Jacqueline West is the author of The Collectors

Subjects

The publisher of the The Collectors is Greenwillow Books. includes the following subjects: The BISAC Subject Code is Action & Adventure, General, Juvenile Fiction

Additional info

The publisher of the The Collectors is Greenwillow Books. The imprint is Greenwillow Books. It is supplied by Greenwillow Books. The ISBN-13 is 9780062855114.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

Amber

March 09, 2019

Although he tends to go through life generally unnoticed, Van himself is very good at noticing things. Little things that other people would never see. He finds out one day that he can even see some people whom other, normal, folks can't, and that's where his adventures begin. These usually invisible people are Collectors - they steal away wishes before the Wish Eaters can get them. But Van soon discovers that it's not at all easy to discern which side is the right side in this struggle, and that things like good intentions can have disastrous effects.I loved this Schneider Honor Book, both for it's excellent and imaginative story, but also - and especially - for how Van is portrayed as a boy who wears hearing aids but how that isn't a major plot point. Van is just Van and his hearing aids are a part of how his life works, NBD. As it should be.

Clarabel

May 07, 2019

J'aime le tourbillon fantastique auquel carburent les romans jeunesse, à l'instar de cette nouvelle série de Jacqueline West (dont j'avais déjà eu le plaisir de découvrir La Maison des secrets).On retrouve pour héros un jeune garçon solitaire et intrépide : Van, dont la maman est chanteuse d'opéra et voyage à travers le monde. Le garçon est donc habitué à changer d'école et se fondre dans la masse. Ce qu'il aime aussi, c'est collectionner des petits objets insolites. Il a la manie de les chiper dès que le besoin se fait ressentir. Un jour, au parc, il surprend une fille en train de ramasser des pièces dans une fontaine à vœux. Mais celle-ci s'enfuit. Il va la recroiser à plusieurs occasions et toujours dans des circonstances étranges. L'enfant est curieux et la piste... d'où son introduction dans le monde insoupçonné des Collectionneurs !Si rien que la lecture du premier chapitre vous donne des frissons de joie - une araignée pend au-dessus de la table d'un restaurant bondé - c'est gagné pour la suite. Vous venez de décrocher votre ticket pour une aventure étonnante. On a ainsi des personnages mystérieux, des héros attachants, des choix cornéliens, des apparences trompeuses, des créatures adorables, des vœux par milliers, des missions périlleuses, des kidnappings nocturnes, des sourires qui vous glacent le sang et d'autres qui font froncer les sourcils. Tout ça donne lieu à une lecture fabuleuse avec une intrigue riche en rebondissements (j'ai failli être bernée plus d'une fois). C'est assez original et tellement pétillant... j'ai franchement beaucoup aimé !

The Reading Countess

December 06, 2018

Holy cow. Jacqueline West, you have written a delightfully delicious fantasy story. This is a book you cannot put down until the very last page-compulsively readable!While I was sad to turn to that last page, I'm heartened to know that there is a second one coming around soon enough. The Collectors is the first in a planned two-book series.You've gotta love the world she weaves: dream eaters that remind you of Gremlins, a lovable, easily distracted squirrel, and its main characters, Van and Pebble, with whom you want to be friends. The secondary characters are equally well drawn: the mysterious Mr. Falborg and Van's opera singing mother are standouts. The fact that I haven't yet mentioned Van's hearing impairment (until now, mind you) tells you that West carefully and skillfully wound that part of his persona into the plot. I especially liked that HE did not wish for that to be altered .As an elementary Language Arts teacher, I am forever grateful to writers like Jacqueline West who write UP to this age group of readers. Her word choice, world building and hidden messages, or so-whats, indicate a deep respect for her readers.And what might be some little life lessons tucked away, you wonder? While there are many, the two I plan on focusing on when our book club meets next month are BE CAREFUL FOR WHAT YOU WISH and LIFE IS FULL OF GREY AREAS.Highly recommended for the 8-12 year old crowd! Now, I'm just waiting to hear about the movie deal in the works..."Wishes are extraordinarily hard to control.""---could you understand something deeply enough that you could no longer take either side at all?"

Patty

May 27, 2018

The CollectorsByJacqueline WestWhat it's all about...Van is the young son of a famous opera singer. They live wherever his mother sings. This makes Van the newest kid in his class...wherever they go. Van is also deaf and wears hearing aids but there are certain situations where he just does not hear what people are saying. Van also likes tiny things. He seems to find something odd and unique wherever he goes. He loves looking down for small discarded treasures. One day he sees a girl and her squirrel...that would be Pebbles and her squirrel Barnavelt. Van can both see them and hear them and this is just not supposed to happen. This also marks his entrance into the creepy world of the Collectors. Why I wanted to read it...I love middle grade books that are mixed with a healthy dose of fantasy. This book had that delightful dose. What made me truly enjoy this book...I loved this book because of its wondrous mix of good guys, bad guys and those that are in between. Van gets braver and stronger and that is something he needed. The idea of wishes coming true when you feed the Wish Eaters was fun and then just a tiny bit scary. Well...actually...a lot scary! Wait until you find out what happens when the Wish Eaters are fed! Yikes! Why you should read it, too...Middle grade readers who love a book about a boy who can become a sort of a hero and who love adventures that take place in dark and kind of creepy places...will love this book. I can’t wait to see what Van does next! I received an advance reader’s copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss and Amazon. It was my choice to read it and review it.

Arien

March 20, 2020

El protagonista de nuestra historia es Giovanni Markson, Van para los pocos amigos que tiene, debido a su forma de vida y características los amigos no es algo que le sobre. Van vive con su madre, una cantante de ópera cuyo trabajo les hace mudarse continuamente. Van es un niño muy curioso y observador, con una gran imaginación y algo que lo hace diferente a los demás; tiene discapacidad auditiva.Normalmente no solemos encontrar novelas cuyos protagonistas tengan algún tipo de discapacidad pero últimamente esto está cambiando. En Van encontramos a un niño que está acostumbrado a vivir con su diferencia auditiva. Siempre lleva sus audífonos pero aún así escucha de manera diferente por lo que no encaja con los demás niños y suele sentirse bastante distinto.Pero la autora nos lo muestra como un niño feliz, con una imaginación desbordante y muy atento a lo que pasa a su alrededor, es por eso que consigue ver lo que nadie más ve.Un día estando en un parque ve algo que llama su atención: una niña con un abrigo enorme rebuscando en un fuente acompañada de una ardilla que habla. Este encuentro desata un montón de aventuras más que pondrán la vida de Van patas arriba.No os quiero revelar mucho, solo que los sueños y los deseos tienen un papel muy importante en esta novela. A su alrededor se crea un mundo de magia, misterio y aventuras en el que Van se ve sumergido hasta el fondo.La primera parte del libro es algo más introductoria, nos muestra el mundo y la personalidad de Van, los misterios que envuelven los sueños y dos bandos claramente diferenciados. La autora nos enseña puntos de los dos bandos para tenernos en la incertidumbre; es bueno que los deseos se cumplan o que no lo hagan?Así, entre aventuras y giros inesperados, misterios y secretos, se nos presenta un dilema bastante interesante. Creo que a priori todos podríamos pensar que algo como que los sueños se cumplan es positivo pero hay que pensar un poco más allá, no todos los deseos son buenos aunque la intención no sea mala.Estas reflexiones las vemos a través de Van y es que el personaje protagonista esta muy bien creado y tiene mucha profundidad. Además de ser curioso y observador, veremos que es un niño leal, valiente y tierno. Pero también otros personajes como Piedra, la ardilla, la madre de Van y otros que no puedo mencionar para no revelar spoilers, le van a dar los puntos de vista necesarios para entender todas las perspectivas.El otro pilar importante de esta novela es la amistad. Como os he comentado al principio, Van no tiene amigos y esta aventura le ayudará a cimentar los lazos de una amistad del todo inesperada.Se que no os he contado mucho sobre lo que pasa en sí, pero creo que es parte del encanto del libro, y es que el misterio y los giros son los que consiguen engancharnos. Ya os he comentado que al principio el ritmo es más lento, pero pasada la mitad se vuelve más trepidante llegando incluso a momentos de mucha tensión. También hay algunos momentos que, para ciertas edades, puede llegar a dar algo de miedo."Los devorasueños" es un libro que contiene mucha magia y misterio, con un protagonista de lo más entrañable con el que vivir muchas aventuras.

Miriam

April 29, 2019

This curious book is about a young boy who can see wishes (they look like little bubbles) and those who capture them. It's impossible, of course, but "true" as he ends up in a world that harvests and captures wishes, keeps them safe from those who can make wishes come true. Some of the tale is about the danger surrounding wishes. Some is about the old adage "Be careful what you wish for." In the end, it's about wishes and the truth surrounding them.While the tale is written for 8-12 year olds, I'd say it's appropriate for 12 and up. There are some scary scenes scatter within the tale.I received an ARC for review for The BookLoft of German Village (Columbus, OH) http://www.bookloft.com

Karen

November 19, 2018

Van is used to going around unnoticed, so he’s become an expert at noticing the stuff that everyone else ignores. He has built a collection of found objects that he keeps stowed beneath his bed. Whenever he goes out he’s always on the lookout for another treasure to add to his box. One day at the Park, he notices a gray squirrel and a strangely dressed girl stealing a coin from a fountain. Little does he know that his life is about to get much, much more interesting. This book has so much going for it. It is a truly wonderful tale for middle grade readers, and I know they will be hooked by this one. I like that the author chose to give the main character a disability. Lots of children know either a classmate or a family member who suffers from hearing impairment, and after reading this story I’m sure they will come away with a better understanding of the difficulties they face. I also like the idea of the collection of wishes, and how we should be careful what we wish for because they can have unintended consequences. The author shows there are two sides to every issue, and that there isn’t always a “right” side. Van is caught in the middle, and wants to find a compromise because he can see that each side has some valid points. Readers will love this fantasy tale that’s filled with magic, adventure and humor. They’ll fall in love with Barnavelt, the talking squirrel, and be fascinated by the spine-tingling world of the Collectors.

Pages & Cup

January 11, 2019

4.5/5 stars. What an absolutely wonderful middle-grade book! I loved the protagonist, Van Markson. He's very likable and relatable, even though he's an 11-year-old boy who's hearing impaired and I'm not. I also loved the mini-cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. They propelled the story forward. I received this book for free from the publisher.

Anna

April 18, 2021

The Collectors centers around Van, an 11 year old boy, as he discovers a hidden world of wish collectors, secretive people, and magical animals. Jacqueline West writes fabulous dark, magical, mysterious middle grade and YA books. I loved this and would recommend it to anyone of any age.

Taylor Ren’e

January 14, 2020

Loved it. Unique concept, gorgeous world building and a perfectly unwrapped ending. I’m hoping for a book 2 📖

Jen

May 02, 2019

Just wonderful.

Boutayna

May 19, 2020

3.5Slow at moments but lands well. I love the mom in this. Moral relativism for 12-year-olds was fun to read.

Pumkin pie

July 09, 2020

Like, I really loved this. I loved the excitement and the mystery. I can't WAIT for the next book!

Heather

October 04, 2019

Here's what I really like: the main character is a boy who knows that the important things are in the details. He has hearing issues so he has to pay close attention to the clues around him. He is a survivor. He is very smart. Also, there is magic.I thought the pace was slightly uneven. But kids who aren't quite ready for the drama of HP 4 and on, who like the Land of Stories or the Savvy series will certainly dig this. I liked it a lot.

HomeInMyShoes

January 25, 2019

Obviously a series book with a series ending, but the concept was great and I liked the trade-offs message.

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