Small Spaces by Katherine Arden ISBN: 9780525515043
Series: Small Spaces #1
Published by Penguin on May 24, 2022
Genres: Middle Grade, Horror
Pages: 256
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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 classic. Now in paperback.
After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie who only finds solace in books discovers a chilling ghost story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who 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.
Captivated by the tale, Ollie begins to wonder if the smiling man might be real when she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about on a school trip to a nearby farm. Then, later, when her school bus breaks down on the ride home, the strange bus driver tells Ollie and her classmates: 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 begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN.
Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed these warnings. 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.
After loving The Bear and The Nightingale, I wanted to check out this Middle Grade novel by Katherine Arden. Middle Grade isn’t my genre, so I didn’t expect to be very engaged, but the surreal creepiness was excellent. It wasn’t so atmospheric as to creep me out (which would likely be too much for a pre-teen), but it was very much a spooky tale. And Olivia is well-developed as a character, with depth in her grief. As typical, the adults are relatively one-dimensional, but they’re all tertiary to the story anyway. It’s a spooky, sweet read that I found generally enjoyable.
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