The Moment Collector: A Review

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The header's pretty irrelevant to the central theme or idea of the novel, but I seem to find these ribbons and B&W photos fascinating. So maybe I'm gonna have a lot of stuff like that for a while...

It feels weird reviewing a UK version of a novel when all my life I'm bound to read and review US versions. Weird to the point that I've been considering all alone which title and cover to use. Now, I have come to a conclusion. I will use the UK version (obviously), but I'll talk about the US version a bit. (Because I like the US version cover and title just the same.) So yes, this week, I'm reviewing The Moment Collector by Jodi Lynn Anderson.

(spoiler-free because it's mean to spoil! [also, it's hard to spoil])

 What do you think is under the title?

• The Moment Collector: Actually, I think the title is sort of spoiler-y. I think the title and the subtitle (?) of the UK version's cover are spoiler-y. Anyway, I supposed it's entitle The Memory Collector because of the ghost in the story. Because she watches over three main people's lives; therefore, collecting memories.
• The Vanishing Season: My reason for this is just there floating on the surface. I think it's entitled as such because during the duration of the story of the book (or the Winter season), a lot of teenage girls vanish without so much of a reason.

In general:

• I loved it.

Why?

• It seems to me, I'm starting to think of my unstable emotions nowadays as a reason as to why I cried whilst reading a novel. Right now, for this novel, I'm using that excuse again.
• I plunged into The Moment Collector (or The Vanishing Season in most other editions) without so much of an idea as to what it is really about. All I knew is that the synopsis says that it's like The Lovely Bones and then I just trudged into it.
• I've never read anything from Jodi Lynn Anderson before. (Although Tiger Lily had been a buzz back then, it never piqued my interest.) So obviously, I have no expectations from this novel and the author but the The Lovely Bones vibes. Anderson's writing is beautiful. I'll be honest: for most of the novel, I literally just sat there, trudging along to the story and waiting for something huge to happen and would've DNF'd this if it wasn't for the writing. Her writing style is simple but very captivating. There's a certain eeriness to it that I found both alluring, cold, and creepy.
• The plot. I'd be honest: the synopsis has not much to say or do with the bigger picture in the novel. It's actually very vague, but hey, it's good to be vague sometimes. It makes it even more interesting and mysterious. (Although now that I think about it, the synopsis may just be a spoiler. It says nothing and everything at once.
• The writing. If I were to describe it in one word, the word will be sad. Really. I don't know if this applies to Tiger Lily and the other novels written by Jodi Lynn Anderson, but this is just so sad. And creepy.
• You should know that this is not a scary story. It might seem like it--given the synopsis--but it isn't. This is no ghost story. Well there is a ghost. But it isn't about it haunting everyone in their sleep and scaring them away. 
• Also, I think the The Lovely Bones-esque part of the novel is that part of the plot where girls are kidnapped and then killed. I sort of looked forward to a very Lovely Bones-like novel because the synopsis sounded so much like it. Plus, the aura of the novel. But let me tell you this: no. It's nothing like it.
• The characters.
• THE ENDING. Let us not talk about it!!! (I'm kidding. Of course, we will.) I've mentioned earlier that I thought this was sort of DNF-worthy? Turns out, it isn't. Because everything places itself together in the end. It's one of those novels that makes you question a lot of things for a while, but manages to punch you with so much emotions in the end.
• Overall, The Moment Collector is a beautifully written novel about friendships, small town life, and the value of things. It's extraordinary, unique, and amazing. It made me feel a lot of emotions, as though I'm on a roller coaster. It goes up, it goes down. I'm pretty sure it will be long until I forget about this novel.

Quotes you liked:

"I'm not calm, I'm just...hesitant. It's like, I always think pretty soon my life will be this great story, as soon as it starts.”

“The living always think that monsters roar and gnash their teeth. But I've seen that real monsters can be friendly; they can smile, and they can say please and thank you like everyone else. Real monsters can appear to be kind. Sometimes they can be inside us.” 

Make a three to five song playlist for the novel:

• Human- Orla Gartlane
• Home- Gabrielle Aplin
• Another Set of Wings- A Rocket to the Moon
• Not About Angels- Birdy

Rate it by stars/rubber ducks:

four ducks!

Would you recommend it?

• Yes!!!

Last words:

• Thank you, Netgalley and Hachette for the opportunity to review this wonderful novel!
• I swear this novel kept me up for at least three nights because it's so sad.