Genre: Middle-Grade, Horror
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
ISBN: 052551502X
Format: Hardback, E-Book, Audio-Book
Release Date: 25th September 2018
Rating: 9/10
Synopsis:
After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn't think--she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read the slender volume, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both loved her, and a peculiar deal made with "the smiling man," a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price.
Ollie is captivated by the tale until her school trip the next day to Smoke Hollow, a local farm with a haunting history all its own. There she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about. Could it be the story about the smiling man is true? Ollie doesn't have too long to think about the answer to that. On the way home, the school bus breaks down, sending their teacher back to the farm for help. But the strange bus driver has some advice for the kids left behind in his care: "Best get moving. At nightfall they'll come for the rest of you." Nightfall is, indeed, fast descending when Ollie's previously broken digital wristwatch, a keepsake reminder of better times, begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN.
Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed the bus driver's warning. As the trio head out into the woods--bordered by a field of scarecrows that seem to be watching them--the bus driver has just one final piece of advice for Ollie and her friends: "Avoid large places. Keep to small."
And with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins.
Review:
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a book signing with author Katherine Arden to celebrate the release of her very first middle-grade novel: Small Spaces. The signing was great and I loved having the opportunity to talk to her in person and learn more about how she writes. I was lucky enough to get Small Spaces signed as well as her two other books: The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower.
Small Spaces is set in a town in Vermont. The main protagonist, Ollie, comes across a mysterious woman trying to get rid of a book in a creek. Reading the book reveals a dark tale of 'the smiling man' and when Ollie and her classmates go on a school trip to Smoke Hollow she begins to realise that the book may hold the key to their safety.
Ollie was a wonderful protagonist. Her mother passed away while she was young and Ollie is still struggling to come to terms with her passing. At school, she is smart but doesn't have many friends. She also dropped out of her school activities after losing her mother. But, she still sticks up for what she believes is right and will defend people even if she isn't friends with them. Katherine Arden did at showing how Ollie is struggling with her grief and feels unable to cope after losing her mother. Ollie relies on books to take her to another world where she doesn't have to think as much about the sadness around her.
Many of the characters follow recognisable traits such as the jock, the nerd, the loner, etc. but Katherine Arden did a wonderful job at making the characters their own. The jock loved books and reading and the loner is brave, determined and hopeful. She then throws Ollie with two of her classmates (Coco and Brian) and the three become unlikely friends who are determined to save their friends and escape from 'the smiling man'.
Katherine Arden did a wonderful job at creating a creepy atmosphere while still being suitable for a younger audience. It was a very chilling read and the descriptions of the scarecrows were particularly creepy. The feeling of being followed or watched was used fantastically. I loved the book that Ollie found and how it provided backstory to Smoke Hollow and the mysterious that the farm holds.
My only criticism is that I wish the ending had been a little more drawn out. I loved the inclusion of a corn maze and would have loved to have read more passages with the characters lost inside it.
The book was wonderful and I couldn't put it down from start to finish. I look forward to reading what Katherine Arden comes up with next and I cannot wait to read more with Ollie, Coco and Brian. This book is the perfect Halloween read.
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