Ohana Reads: Book Review: The Collector by Victoria Scott

Friday, January 3, 2014

Book Review: The Collector by Victoria Scott

Release Date: April 2, 2013
Read: June, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Series: Dante Walker Trilogy, #1
Format: Paperback, 352 pages
Source: Winnipeg Public Library

Description from GoodReads:

He makes good girls...bad.

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal-opportunity collector and doesn't want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within ten days.

Dante doesn't know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector…and uncover emotions deeply buried.

Review:

I first found The Collector on GoodReads when it was featured for the month of July. My initial thoughts on the summary were that this book would be no other book I've read before. Just by reading the first line you can see the difference between Victoria's work and that of other authors. Her descriptions and choice of words are unique and bring a new meaning to Young Adult reads. When authors write stories about 16-18 year old main characters they make them seem wiser and older then they're supposed to be. With Victoria's writing, she makes it feel like we are actually seeing the world though a 17 year olds perspective by using the words flippin' and boss man.
The Collector is about a soul collector by the name of Dante Walker. The job of a soul collector is mark the people who are as Dante would say it, "bad", with a steal. With so many steals on a person when they die their souls are sent to hell to forever stay with the "Boss Man". In the book, Dante is set with the task of collecting Charlie Cooper's soul. For top collector Dante Walker this should be no big deal, but after meeting the geeky girl Charlie and spends time learning who she really is. His emotions get the best of him and Dante is faced with a choice, complete the assignment and get a permanent ticket out of hell or Charlie's heart. The Collector is a must read and I can personally say everyone who hasn't read it is missing out.
The Collector is the first book in the Dante Walker Trilogy which contains The Collector, The Liberator, and The Warrior. Victoria also has a second series which releases February 25th 2014 called Fire & Flood. Victoria currently lives in Dallas Texas with her husband.