
The Rent Collector
Adapted for Young Readers
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Narrated by:
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Emily Woo Zeller
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By:
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Camron Wright
About this listen
Based on true events.
Sang Ly lives at Cambodia’s city dump and is grateful she can help earn a living for her family by sifting through the trash for recyclables and things that can be repaired and sold. On a good day, she can earn enough to buy food for her family. She needs enough good days so she can pay the rent collector, Sopeap—a grumpy old woman who shows no mercy and who is willing to evict any tenant who can’t pay their rent on time.
When Sang Ly is unable to pay her rent for the month, she fears her family will have to leave the dump and their shanty home, a place where her only possessions can be carried in two hands. Little does she know that a discarded children’s book found among the mounds of trash would save her. When Sopeap sees the book lying on Sang Ly's cardboard bed, her mood changes. Sang Ly offers her the book if she is allowed to keep her family at the dump.
An unlikely friendship develops between the two women, and Sang Ly learns that Sopeap knows how to read—something that Sang Ly has always wanted to learn. Being able to read could transform Sang Ly’s world beyond the predictable confines of the dump and lead to a future with possibilities and hope. But the rent collector has a secret and tragic past, one that will not be easy for Sang Ly to navigate.
With the help of her supportive husband, Ki Lim, and a helpful and humorous boy, Lucky Fat, Sang Ly embarks on a life-changing journey to give her young son, Nisay, a better life and future.
The Rent Collector is about the power of literacy, the influence of the past, and finding hope, resiliency, and empowerment in the face of seemingly endless hardship.
©2022 Camron Wright. “Love Forever" © Joni Buehner (P)2022 Blackstone PublishingListeners also enjoyed...
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Overall
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Seven-year-old Chellamuthu’s life—and his destiny—is forever changed when he is kidnapped from his village in Southern India and sold to the Lincoln Home for Homeless Children. His family is desperate to find him, and Chellamuthu anxiously tells the Indian orphanage that he is not an orphan, he has a mother who loves him. But he is told not to worry, he will soon be adopted by a loving family in America.
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What listeners say about The Rent Collector
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- sarah
- 04-19-24
Fantastic!
The voice was great and the story had beautiful life lessons! I will cherish it.
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- Deborah Segal
- 01-28-25
A story of hope, love, and redemption.
For anyone who has fallen on hard times, but still manages to be grateful. For anyone who loves books and the power of words. For anyone who loves a great story. This book is for you.
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- KeriLyn
- 07-24-24
Worth the read!
The story is a great reminder of the power of literature and what true education is. It is written in a way that people of many ages can understand and relate to. A great family Reed, great for a bookgroup discussion, or just to enjoy on your own.
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