New York Times bestselling adult author of The Bear and the Nightingale makes her middle grade debut with a creepy, spellbinding ghost story destined to become a classicAfter 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 … 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.
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Is it a mystery? A fairy tale? A horror thriller? As the suspense gripped me, I just wanted to know one thing—WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Terrifying and fun.
It’s a little out of my wheelhouse to review a middle grade novel, but a good story is a good story. I read this to see if it was too creepy for my daughter, and I loved it so much we wound up reading it aloud together. The plot is creepy, but what really sticks with you are the characters. Ollie and her newfound friends deal with grief, fear, bravery, and stereotypes (not to mention living scarecrows). Bookworms of all ages will tear up at the refuge Ollie finds in books. We’ve been there.
This book scared the snot out of me. Fast-paced and spine-tinglingly delightful. I defy you to read the first two chapters without staying up the rest of the night to finish. You’ve been warned!
When I read the blurb for Small Spaces, I thought it would be fun to read along with my two mid-grade kiddos. One’s a girly-girl, and the other is all rough and tough boy, so they have vastly different interests. They do, however, both love creepy stories and very little scares either of them. Needless to say, I was surprised when both of them scooted a little closer to me during some parts of this book. I was also a little relieved. Those scarecrows are downright creepy. With that in mind, I wouldn’t recommend this one for younger kids or even older ones who are easily scared, but if your kids enjoy RL Stine, Stranger Things, and Goosebumps, they should like this one, and they’ll even learn a few lessons along the way. The story is well-written and Arden certainly has a gift for setting a scene, the characters are developed, and the storyline covers a variety of genres and does a great job of tackling some tough topics, especially for that age group.
This is the perfect Halloween book for 3rd-5th graders. The plot is complicated yet simple enough for young readers to enjoy. Ollies bravery and decision-making are very relatable for this age group.
It’s gettin’spooky in here!
When my kids were young I used to watch movies and TV shows before I let them. Now, with grandkids reading, I get to read books before they do and make a future TBR for them. Ya let’s go with that
Anywho…this was absolutely fun to read and makes the perfect book for Fall. If you read cozy mysteries (which I LOVE) this has that feel.
There are some super spooky parts too…like pumpkin-headed scarecrows staring gap-toothed and hollow-eyed through windows… That’s the stuff of nightmares right there
You don’t have to be in Middle School to enjoy this. It’s quick. It’s fun. It’s spooky enough and a perfect way to spend a dark morning (or night) reading.
This book is great and I can’t wait to read the next ones
I loved this spooky middle grade book. Ollie is a great character. I also loved Coco and Brian. The story was spooky and unique. I was pulled in immediately. I highly recommend.
Well, that was creepy. And fun! But also I had nightmares last night. It was fast paced and dark, but I could have easily read more of it if it were longer! Excited to see how the next book goes!
A perfect spooky Halloween read. Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale series was one of my favorite reads last year, and I wouldn’t have expected anything less from her middle grade debut than similarly beautiful writing, strong heroines, and a sense of something otherworldly.
This book was creepy in the best sort of way! Not your run-of-the-mill ghost story! As an elementary school librarian, I get asked by kids all the time for new scary books. This one has quickly become a favorite. It’s never on the shelf because someone always has it checked out. And it usually has holds from kids who are eagerly waiting for their turn to read it next. A perfect book for the Halloween season. That said, however, I would not recommend this book to readers who get frightened easily. It can get pretty intense. at times.
I gave this novel four spooky stars!
This is my first read from this author, and I doubt it will be my last.
Ollie spends her days daydreaming in class, hidden in the world of books and creative wanderings as a coping mechanism for a somewhat recent loss in the family.
But that all changes when she finds the sobbing woman by the lake one day, a woman ready to toss a book into the river. Appalled at the injustice, Ollie snatches the book from the woman and runs away.
When the book’s contents seem to jive with her surroundings the next day on a field trip, Ollie is perplexed. That is, until their bus breaks down on the way home and her mother’s watch face tells her to run away. Can Ollie and her new friends figure out what is going on and save themselves, or will they be too late?
This book was a lot of creepy fun! Almost all of the elements presented here really worked for me.
For starters, the characters were really great. Ollie is a strong-willed kiddo who is very bright and good at math. I found it very easy to relate to her because I was a very opinionated child who was good at math as well. Ollie had a loss in her family and a part of this book was coming to terms with that as well as growing up a little bit. I really resonated with that and found it felt genuine. Ollie and her friends Coco and Brian were believable as sixth graders based on their conversations and actions, and the adult characters’ actions were thought out as well.
The plot had me since I read the blurb. There were plenty of light chills and thrills that kept me going the whole time, and though I was expecting something a little more horrific, this book reminded me of all the good times I had reading Goosebumps as a child. It makes sense why R.L. Stine endorsed this book. I also enjoyed the mystery element, though I did feel some things were a little obvious to me.
The writing was simple, fun, and free of purple prose, perfect for the middle-grade reader or adult reader looking for an easy read.
If I had to poke at anything, I would say that near the end where things concluded it felt a bit rushed and random. I wanted things to make a bit more sense than they did, and in small bits I kind of tilted my head and thought “Did we really verify that?” Other than that, I have no complaints.
All in all, this was the perfect intro read to Arden’s work, and I can’t wait to read the sequel and some of her other works!
It was amazing
I am in absolute love with this book. I was drawn in from the cover and intrigued with the synopsis. I was hooked from the beginning and was unable to put it down, well, except at night because I was getting the heebie geebies. There were moments were the hair on the back of my neck were standing up. I loved the story within a story and I wish I could have heard more about out the villain. I am super excited to read the sequel and introduce this series to my kids when they are older.
I received a copy on netgalley in exchange for a review. All statements and opinions above are solely my own.
Hum… well I certainly expected more, much more; but I also enjoyed most of it.
Likes: It was a easy, fast read. Nothing overly detailed or indepth. The writing was smooth and there weren’t any majorly large concepts to understand. The characters all seemed their age.
Dislikes: it wasn’t scary, or terrifying, or even spine-tingling (even for the target audence). It was a nice story, mabye a good campfire story, but nothing to write home about.
What a delightfully creepy novel. Small Spaces is one of those novels that is perfect for those dark and stormy nights, or even just at night in general. Arden did a fantastic job with this piece. She created an unputdownable novel about a young girl sucked into another world outside our own, a world between life and death set in a cornfield with creepy scarecrows that come to life as the sun sets. It is wonderful. Arden’s language and tone create a beautiful setting, beginning with nothing spectacular but undoubtedly eerie, as Ollie heads home after school one day. It seems like nothing remarkable, but Arden weaves in a remarkable eerie tone to unleash unease onto the reader.
From the opening pages, something is unsettling about everything happening around Ollie. She rescues a book from someone who seems deranged and heads home, discovering something eerie and mesmerizing about the novel she is reading. Moreover, when she goes on a school field trip, she discovers something scarier. Her watch is guiding her, helping her along, as her school bus breaks down, fog rolls in, and silence settles around her. For Ollie and her two friends, it is a journey to not only save themselves but to unravel the mystery and save their class as well.
It is incredibly perfect how the story moves, maintaining that spooky element, there is also something mature in the storytelling. Ollie lost her mother in a tragic accident sometime before the novel begins. She is still reeling, trying to move on with her life, but she is not going about it healthily. Ollie isolates herself and lingers on the past, often lingering on the event through hints given to the reader by descriptions tone. However, through the watch and through the events that follow, Ollie learns to make peace with her mothers’ death and learns that her mother is always with her, allowing her to open up again in school and move on.
Small Space is a fantastic novel that is incredibly spooky that deals with mature themes making for an incredible read.
When I saw that Katherine Arden wrote Small Spaces, I knew I had to read it. I was a massive fan of the Winternight Trilogy, and I had high expectations of Small Spaces. Unfortunately, it fell short for me.
Ollie is an eleven-year-old who suffered a tragic loss. Refusing to talk about what happened, Ollie shut herself from the world. Her only solace was reading. After defending a new student from bullies, Ollie goes to her secret reading area. There she meets a deranged woman about to throw a book in a stream. Stealing the book, Ollie reads a story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who loved her, and the smiling man. The next day, Ollie takes a field trip to Smoke Hollow, where she notices something strange about the scarecrows. When the bus breaks down on the way home, Ollie’s teacher goes back to the farm to get help. The bus driver warns Ollie and her friends to start running. Then he says, “Avoid large places, keep to small.” After that, her watch, the last physical thing her mother was wearing the day she died, spells out the word “Run.” That’s when the adventure begins. What will happen to Ollie and her friends? Who is the smiling man? How is he connected to what was happening to Ollie? And what exactly does the bus driver mean?
I thought Small Spaces storyline was fantastic. It was creepy enough for upper elementary/middle school-aged children.
I did like the characters, but I felt that there was not a lot of depth to them. Ollie was the loner with a tragic past, Brian was the jock who had a hidden side to him, and Coco was the new girl who was trying too hard to fit in. The author did try to make them more fleshed out. Brian quoting Alice in Wonderland did surprise me. As did Coco revealing that she used to rock climb before she moved to Evansburg. But other than that, I didn’t get a connection with them.
Revealing Ollie’s tragic past sooner would have been an asset to the book. I did guess at what happened early on in the book, but it took forever for it come out. I wanted to reach into the book and hug her.
I did have an issue with the formatting what reading Small Spaces. I would be reading a paragraph, and then random numbers would appear (example: running in the 1. woods). It made it hard for me to read the book and did take away from my enjoyment of it. It also affected my rating.
I also thought that paranormal/horror angle of the book was almost too understated for me. I am an adult and used to more scares. But, as I said above, this would be a perfect book for middle-grade kids. But for adults, no.
The end of the book left me feeling unfulfilled. While I liked what Ollie did, I was left wanting more. There is a book 2, which I would like to read.
I have only one word. CREEPY! I loved it! I was terrified the whole time I was reading it! The bus driver was creepy. The scarecrows were creepy. I want more!
I love creepy books, so when I came across Small Spaces by Katherine Arden, it immediately caught my attention. I don’t normally read middle grade fiction, but I do make an exception for middle grade horror, and I’m really glad I had the chance to read Small Spaces.
Olivia, or Ollie as she prefers, is in middle school. She loves reading and books, so when she comes across a sobbing lady getting ready to throw a book in a river, she steals it before the woman has a chance to do so. Ollie thinks the book she stole is just a creepy ghost story, but she soon realizes it is anything but fiction! When her class goes on a field trip to a farm, Ollie realizes just how true the book is. When the field trip bus breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Ollie and two friends decided to leave the bus fearing that they may be in even worse danger if they stay on the bus. With the help of her broken watch from her deceased mother, Ollie must be very careful if she wants to return home unscathed.
I did enjoy the plot of Small Spaces. I felt like I was reading a R.L. Stine novel! Katherine Arden did such a fantastic job with this story in keeping it interesting. There were a few times were the story felt a little disjointed with what was going on as it sometimes seemed as if Small Spaces wanted to be more of a ghost story other than what it actually was. However, it was still a great plot! There was one plot twist I didn’t see coming which I thought was great considering I’m an adult, and this is a middle grade story. Usually I can figure out the plot twists, but not this time! One thing that got me wondering is how all these 11 and 12 year old kids each had their own cell phone. I know it’s not impossible for a whole class of junior high children to have a cell phone, but it just seems improbable. While most of my questions were answered, I was left pondering over the ending as to why more questions weren’t asked by the police or the parents. Another question I had, I won’t go into detail because of spoilers, but it pertained to the kids and the water. I’ll just leave it at that. Although Small Spaces is a series, it can be read as a standalone as there is no cliff hanger ending.
The pacing for Small Spaces starts out a bit slow, but it picks up quickly to a fantastic pace a few chapters in. It stays at a decent pace for the majority of the book until it slows a little bit towards the ending. I wouldn’t say the pacing lets the book down in any way though.
I felt all the characters in Small Spaces were written very well especially as the main characters were written as middle schoolers. I felt every character was solid. I didn’t really care for Ollie’s personality though. For the first half of the book, especially, she came across as a bully. As this book is aimed towards kids that are impressionable, it kind of irked me that the main character was a little mean to others. I liked Brian. I thought he seemed like he’d be a great kid in real life. I admire how he wasn’t ashamed to show his emotions at certain times. My favorite character was Coco. Coco had just moved from the city to Ollie’s middle school. She seemed really vulnerable, yet Ollie was mean to her a lot of the time. I just wanted to hug and protect Coco. She was such a sweet girl to everyone unlike Ollie. Coco came across as a happy go lucky girl.
Trigger warnings in Small Spaces besides being a scary story include death, minor violence, a minor profanity (one of the characters says hell), ghosts, and bullying.
All in all, Small Spaces is a fantastic scary read despite some minor flaws. It’s got such a great spooky plot and characters that feel realistic. I would definitely recommend Small Spaces by Katherine Arden to everyone aged 10+ who love to be spooked! R.L. Stine better watch out; Katherine Arden could give him a run for his money judging by this book! Even though Small Spaces can stand on its own, I will definitely be reading the next book in the Small Spaces series.
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(Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an eBook of Small Spaces by Katherine Arden in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
Three and a half
This is a well written spooky story set near Halloween. It features twelve year old children whose bus breaks down at what is commonly known as a haunted farm. It was easy to read and indeed I actually read it in one sitting but because of the creepy content I’m honestly not sure if a child in middle grade would be able to sleep at night after reading this ! There’s a strong protagonist who is going through a crisis of her own following the recent death of her mother but I really liked Ollie. She’s brave, resilient and considers others feelings. This was quite atmospheric and I loved the growth that the central characters went through. Best of all though is that for all the angst and terror good prevailed against evil so maybe I will be able to sleep tonight after all !
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair