The Collector

Gr 3–6—When Josie's grandmother becomes ill, Josie and her family leave city life and move to her grandmother's home in the country. For Josie, this means starting sixth grade at a new school, far from her friends, with no Internet or cable TV. Her grandmother has many strange rules and is always muttering to herself about the witch in the woods, which makes it even more difficult for Josie to make friends. When children begin to disappear and horrible dreams start haunting Josie and her younger sister Anna, Josie learns that her grandmother's strange beliefs might not be the mutterings of an old woman, but real attempts to protect their family from something sinister in the woods. Alexander builds tension slowly, ramping up to a fight between Josie and the witch. Unfortunately, the resolution happens a bit too quickly for all the time spent setting the scene, and there are several story lines left unresolved. Josie and Vanessa's friendship feels too good to be true, and the characters could have used more depth and development.