I started The Rent Collector over the summer and it was super sweet with a great message. I put off reading this book for a while because it was summer homework, but I ended up enjoying it. Going into it, I didn’t really have any expectations and honestly had no clue what the book was about. However, by the end, I was glad I read it.

The Rent Collector is set in Cambodia in a trash dump that Sang Ly and her family call home. Their family, like many others, barely scrape by, having to risk their lives to earn any ounce of money along with all of the awful living conditions that come from living in a dump. For the cherry on top, there is the rent collector, Sopeap, who comes by and gathers money from everyone in the dump. One day, when Sopeap comes to collect their rent, Sang Ly discovers that Sopeap knows how to read. Sang Ly, determined to get a better life, gathers the courage one day to get Sopeap to teach her how to read. Throughout the story, Sang Ly finds out secrets of the past and begins to understand others through the power of literature. Together, Sang Ly and Sopeap learn to heal and grow as people. 

This was such a sweet book that was honestly kind of impactful for me. The themes woven into the story were beautifully done with the inclusion of other pieces of literature and short stories the Wright placed in it. While the literature was part of the theme itself, the literature helped to create themes that the characters acted on. I found it was super fun to connect the stories to the characters in the book. Of course this was done on purpose, but to see it play out in a different interpretation in their life was cool to read. 

I think what helped make this book seem so real were the characters Wright had. Much of the story was inspired by real places and real people and to think that people who have such a hard life can be so fulfilled and so strong is very motivating. This book helps to provide insight to how some people really live, showing the lows and highs of reality, and how different people’s lives can be. This book ended with a happy ending, but to know that this was just one story out of so many that don’t get to end so nicely is so powerful. Some of the scenes in this book were so sad and dark, making them eye opening and actually had me put the book down for a bit because it happened so suddenly or because I didn’t expect something like that to happen. My heart ached for some of the characters because of what they had gone through, especially because these characters were inspired by real people. 

Overall, The Rent Collector was a great read that can hit a lot of emotions if you really read it. To be honest, I was just going to go through the motions when I began, but I got sucked in and found that I really enjoyed what this book was saying. I would definitely recommend this book to those looking for something to read.

-Nicole R.

The Rent Collector by Camron Wright is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.