The Collectors by Jacqueline West

I loved West's Books of Elsewhere, but they've never circulated as much as I've wanted them to. Most of the kids I've tried them on have told me they're too scary! Still, the description of this book lured me in and I decided to enjoy it myself, even if the kids don't appreciate it.

Van is the new kid, the small kid, easy to overlook - but he sees things nobody else sees. Usually these are small treasures he carries back to his toy theater, wherever he and his opera-singer mother are currently living. But one day he sees - and hears - something different. He sees a strange girl and he hears a talking squirrel. This is unusual not only because, well, talking animals but also because Van can't hear too well anyways. But he doesn't have adjust his hearing aids or make any effort, he just... hears a squirrel.

The mystery deepens as Van pursues the Pebble, the girl, and Barnavelt, the squirrel, and discovers a hidden world of captured wishes and strange collectors, mysterious animals and magic both glorious and terrifying. Eventually, he will be torn between his new friends and his own wishes, trying to find the right path when everyone seems to be lying to him.

This fantasy builds slowly, but when it finally gets going it's a powerful book. Van encounters the power of wishes and also how that power corrupts. He meets friends who turn out to be enemies, and learns that not everything is black and white. West handles Van's hearing loss carefully, weaving its effects into the narrative of his everyday life and building it into the climactic final as Van makes his own choices about his destiny, reminding those who try to change his life that can make his own decisions.

This reminded me of the film Nocturna, with the blend of magic and the strange creatures flitting through the night. It has an open ending, leaving room for a sequel, but not ending on a cliffhanger (the second and last title came out in October 2019, A storm of wishes)

Verdict: I thoroughly enjoyed this beautifully written and gorgeously imagined magical world, and the smooth integration of Van's impaired hearing was extremely well done. However, its length (almost 400 pages) and the slow, reflective beginning, as well as the emphasis on the urban setting and the opera world, make this something unlikely to check out in my library. Happily, there are several copies available in my consortium and I plan to use it in forthcoming book clubs and see if there is enough interest to justify the purchase.

ISBN: 9780062691699; Published 2018 by Greenwillow; Borrowed from another library in my consortium