The Ghost Collector

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Pub Date 10 Sep 2019 | Archive Date 14 Jan 2020

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Description

Ghosts aren’t meant to stick around forever…

Shelly and her grandmother catch ghosts. In their hair.

Just like all the women in their family, they can see souls who haven’t transitioned yet; it’s their job to help the ghosts along their journey. When Shelly’s mom dies suddenly, Shelly’s relationship to ghosts—and death—changes. Instead of helping spirits move on, Shelly starts hoarding them. But no matter how many ghost cats, dogs, or people she hides in her room, Shelly can’t ignore the one ghost that’s missing. Why hasn’t her mom’s ghost come home yet?

Rooted in a Cree worldview and inspired by stories about the author’s great-grandmother’s life, The Ghost Collector delves into questions of grief and loss, and introduces an exciting new voice in tween fiction that will appeal to fans of Kate DiCamillo’s Louisiana’s Way Home and Patrick Ness’s A Monster Calls.

Ghosts aren’t meant to stick around forever…

Shelly and her grandmother catch ghosts. In their hair.

Just like all the women in their family, they can see souls who haven’t transitioned yet; it’s...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781773212951
PRICE $9.95 (USD)
PAGES 184

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Average rating from 39 members


Featured Reviews

I downloaded this not realizing it was a book for children, but I read it anyway. I very much enjoyed it! I believe the targeted age would be around 10-12? I loved ghost stories when I was that age, especially ones that weren’t that scary. What’s great about this story is how it approaches a very sad and troubling topic (the passing of a parent) and handles it in a way that is approachable but not preachy or didactic. As an adult, I understood what the novel was trying to do (walk a child reader through a realistic depiction of grief) but it wouldn’t have been obvious to a child.

There’s a great set of characters – a couple of quirky ghosts, a fun grandmother turned caregiver, and a wonderful protagonist you really feel for. There were a few amusing scenes that helped lighten the tone but didn’t detract from the mood. There were also two scenes that were even a little scary but didn’t go too far.
It was great to see people of colour featured primarily in the novel, and especially the main character who was of First Nations background. I liked the Canadian aspect too, of course!

The book is a non-scary Sixth Sense and a moving tale that teaches kids about loss, acceptance and moving on. It was realistic despite the magical realism genre and the author did a fabulous job suggesting the socio-economic status of the family without bludgeoning us with it. While I, as an adult, knew it would work out in the end, a kid would likely be enthralled by what was going to happen next.

I will buy a copy to give to my daughter when she’s old enough.

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This was a really great, short, read. I can imagine myself reading this book with my daughter when she is around 5th/6th grade. As a parent, it helps to know the plot of the story going into it. I’m glad they disclosed that Shelly’s mother passes away in the story prior to diving in.

The plot itself was really simple and refreshing in it’s approach. I had never heard of the Cree worldview with the belief that ghosts can be trapped in the hair of those who can collect them. I loved how the story shared the richness of what ghosts can be. Sounds that scare those of us who do not ‘see’ the ghosts end up being a variety of thing… like mice that have been hunted and killed by a neighbor’s very zealous cat. Birds that get trapped inside after being killed against high rise buildings.

Even the human ghosts are diverse. I think I cried more over the loss of a certain ghost than I did of Shelly’s mother. I thought it was a clever way for all of us, the reader and Shelly, to let go of the grief that you hold on to a bit in this story.

I’d rate this a 4/5 stars. I would love to read more from this author and look forward to seeing more of her books hit the shelves.

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She walks around town and looks for the dead in dark corners and forgotten places. She snatched ghosts from alleyways and buildings and takes them home to hide in her room. She rescues them.’

This is a book about a girl who not only sees ghosts but catches them and sets them free so that they can go ahead to the afterlife, whatever outcome that is. That is a gift passed down in her family and she learns it from her grandmother who is known for her expertise ghost catching. To make this even better they catch the ghosts by letting down their own hair and letting them get caught in their follicles. It’s such a simple, innovative strategy. The Rapunzels of Ghost Hunting.

This novel was gorgeous to put it bluntly. I’m a ghost lover and I won’t hide it and Allison Mills did a fantastic job at weaving a story about the paranormal and making it heartbreaking and human. The story is about Shelly and her grandmother who catch ghosts, Shelly’s grandmother is teaching Shelly the basics of ghost catching and Shelly’s life has pretty much been all about ghosts (IMPORTANT RULE: DO NOT BRING GHOSTS BACK HOME) when tragedy strikes at home and Shelly’s own mother dies. The tide turns and so does Shelly’s attitude towards ghosts and death.


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I loved everything about this and this has roots in Cree folklore which I am not familiar with but it is so interesting and lovely and I’m happy that this book showcases it.

The characters were all fascinating especially Shelly and her grandmother. There are so many great lessons to take away from this especially of course regarding loss and death. But also life itself and what we can glean from it in the short time we have here on earth.

This is definitely one of my favorite reads of 2019. I’m still feeling the losses of my grandmothers so I think this read hit me maybe 20 times harder because I was sobbing like no other but it is also really really good.

Sidenote: It was so bizarre and funny to see both my first name AND middle name used in this book. First time this has EVER happened while reading haha. Amanda and Estelle for anybody curious.


“That’s worth getting remembered.”

Thank you very much to Netgalley and Annick Press Ltd. for this ARC. All opinions are my own. Check out more haunted reviews on my blog: https://aelilyreads.home.blog/

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A glorious story, simultaneously heartwarming and heartwrenching, about 3 generations of an indigenous Canadian family (Cree) living an embittering life in a city. Grandma and granddaughter Shelley see and communicate with ghosts, helping them to move on. Shelley's mother wants no part of that. But unexpected tragedy impels Shelley to use her gift overtime, collecting ghosts to herself to ease their loneliness--and hers. THE GHOST COLLECTOR is a truly beautiful novel.

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