The Ghost Collector

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.

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/

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.