#The book collector Patch
#The book collector windows

#The book collector Patch

Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house-and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw-Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and-most serious-civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves-during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement. Josie is vegetarian.ĭelightfully spooky-readers may want to avoid dolls for a while after finishing this one. Lacking any signifiers, the cast assumes a white default. Grandma’s memory loss reads more like a trope than accurate characterization, but her involvement in the witch’s backstory adds depth to the otherwise simple narrative. Kahler) is well-plotted genre fiction, with plenty of suspense and eerie imagery. Will Josie escape, or will she end up like the hundreds of other doll-children collected in the house? Alexander’s middle-grade debut (this is a pen name the author also publishes as Alex R. But when the two girls arrange to spend time together after school, Vanessa’s house turns out to be the one Josie’s grandma warned her about. School and a growing friendship with classmate Vanessa bring some normalcy to Josie’s new life. When Josie and her sister start hearing voices calling to them in the night they begin to understand and abide by these rules.

#The book collector windows

Grandma Jeannie, who is experiencing memory loss, has only three house rules: Windows must stay closed after dark, no dolls are allowed inside, and, it is forbidden to visit the house in the woods where Beryl lives.

Sixth-grader Josie, along with her mother and younger sister, Anna, moves from Chicago to a small town to live with their grandmother. A witch dolls up local children by transforming them into, well, dolls.