fun and cute, i think this was an interesting read and that's nice but MG isn't necessarily my favorite so it wasn't my all time favorite

I've read the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden. They are among my favorite books. I was curious to see how she did with a story for a younger audience - I am delighted, and a little spooked!

Small Spaces is about Ollie (Olivia), a twelve year old girl who recently lost her mother in a horrible accident. Overcome with grief, she quit her school clubs and no longer hangs out with her friends, losing herself in her books and picking fights. She comes across a hysterical woman preparing to throw a book in the river. Horrified, Ollie snags the book and flees for the safety of her room, fighting with her father and forgoing a delicious dinner to bury herself in the book. It turns out to be a diary of sorts written by Beth Webster to her daughter in 1895, relating a scary, true story tale and cautioning the reader to stay in small spaces where "they can't get to you,"

Ollie thinks she's found a really good, very old and spooky book and is having difficulty putting it down. When her 6th grade class heads into the Vermont country side to a farm run by Linda Webster, a direct descendant of the author of the book, Ollie starts to notice things are not as they should be. Something is giving Ollie the creeps in a big way - perhaps fueled by all the scarecrows populating the farm. It is when the bus breaks down on the way home, the driver shares creepy advice, and Ollie leaves the bus to seek a small space that things start going very wrong. She's accompanied by the new girl, Coco Zintner, and hockey star Brian Brattersby, neither of whom she particularly likes.

Ollie works with her two partners to solve the mystery and make their way back to safety. The kids have to pull out all their skills and ingenuity to survive. In the course of their terrifying adventure, Ollie is able to come to terms with her grief and let the world and her new friends in.

Katherine Arden has crafted a compelling story - it was difficult to put down. The characters, especially Ollie, are so relateable and very well developed. I was on the edge of my seat as I navigated the back woods of Vermont, hid from scarecrows and ached for Ollie and her father.

Kids are going to love this. It is just scary enough to cause a major case of the creeps, but age appropriate, nothing over the top. This would be a great book to read aloud, or to use in a reading group or book club. There are lots of topics for discussion. I can't wait until I can purchase Small Spaces for our school library.

The sequel, Dead Voices, is available in August. I'm eager to read that as well! I'm thrilled to have a new series to recommend!!

A supernatural thriller that finds a small group of middle school children facing several challenges when their bus breaks down during a field trip. An unlikely group of outcasts team together to overcome social barriers and personal problems in an effort to figure out the mysteries of the scarecrows and hopefully save themselves.

This is my first book by this author and I am upset with myself that I didn't read something by this author sooner. Small Spaces is the perfect Halloween read, but I enjoyed reading it just as much in the middle of the summer. Even if it made me long for the Halloween season!

Small Spaces focuses on our main character Ollie. A 12 year old girl, who is dealing with losing with her mother and having a hard time coping with her grief. I thought besides the adventure Ollie goes on, this book gave a lot of attention to this aspect of her life. I loved how the author did this, because unfortunately there are many children who lose parents at a young age. Katherine Arden did this in a respectful way that really hit me in all the feels.

My favorite part about Ollie is her love of books and that's basically what starts this whole story. Ollie saves a book and that's where the adventure starts. When her class goes on a field trip and later heads back home, the bus gets stranded and that's when things get weird. Small Spaces is definitely a spooky book and at times I was surprised this is a middle grade.

When things start getting spooky, our main character leaves the bus with Coco (the oddball in the class, who is the victim of a lot of bullying, but stays herself) and Brian (the cool kid, with a side you don't expect). I don't want to give away too much, because I think you need to experience this spooky story for yourself. All I can say, is that I'll never look at scarecrows the same again, haha.

What I love about middle grade books is that most of the time it focuses on friendship. I love that Small Spaces is the same. Three classmates who aren't the obvious trio to be close, form a close connection and help each other through a difficult time.

If you're looking for a spooky story, definitely pick up Small Spaces. The spooky part is amazing, but the other subjects it deals with really makes this book special. Dead Voices, the sequel, releases next month and I can't wait to get my hands on it!

This book was great as a read-aloud to my homeschooler. Just the right amount of creepy without being scary. The characters were relatable for young children and the story held attention well.

A fast-paced and vivid young story of 3 unlikely friends who encounter other worldly dangers when their school trip to a farm turns terribly wrong.

This is a good novel that really sets up a series. I can see this becoming a TV show or movie. I enjoyed reading it and I’ve already put in my request for book #2.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy for my review.

This arc was provided by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Katherine Arden for adding scarecrows to my never-ending list of things I am afraid of. Good thing there are no scarecrows around Lisbon!

Small Spaces is a horror middle grade that follows Olivia “Ollie” on her school trip to the local farm. Ollie is disconnected from her school and her classmates, preferring the company of her books, despite her teacher’s and father’s encouragement.
There is a lot to unpack about Ollie as the story goes on. She is dealing with grief and depression after the loss of her mother, whom she reminisces about as the pages go on. Her pain is very palpable to me since I experienced something similar when I was her age, and books were the thing that saved me.
Compared to The Bear and the Nightingale, the writing style is very simple, with no flourishment in the descriptions which I think soothes the overall eerie ambiance. The horror side of this story was creepy but not as scary as I thought it would be. I think the idea is brilliant but the ending was underwhelming for me.
Nevertheless, I can’t wait to see what Ollie, Coco, and Brian get up to in the next book. I also hope their friendship will develop as well.

This book was so CUTE!!! I loved the writing style, and I found the story genuinely creepy. I love Ollie and Coco so much and I’m so excited to read the sequel “Dead Voices”!!! This book was so fun and if you’re looking for a fast read with an engaging and spooky plot, this is definitely it.

This novel will be a great read-out-loud to middle-grade classes during the fall. A great story with just a little bit of spooky thrown in for fun!

Great YA book! I had fun reading it and it kept me on the edge of my seat! I knew right away I wanted to keep reading it from the first page. It kept my interest and held my interest which is hard to do. The writing was also very well done, if it wasn't I wouldn't have read past page 2. I'm excited to read the next book in the series! Arc given to me by Netgalley. Review also on Goodreads.

As an adult reader I really enjoyed Small Spaces. The characters are well developed and I appreciated Ollie’s balance of maturity and age-appropriate reactions. I loved how the world was created, it felt realistic, believable, and so autumnal. The descriptions made it easy to imagine every action and the tone was well crafted with short sentences and quality language.

This book reads like a young adult novel which I think young readers will appreciate. The plot was great, nicely developed with good twists, and I definitely loved the deeper plot points, especially regarding Ollie and her mother and how that shaped her relationship with friends at school.

This book has depth. On the surface it’s about Ollie and her independent nature, but as the story progresses it becomes more about family and friendship, and how tragedy can make these areas of life difficult to navigate. There’s plenty of adventure and some spooky situations, all done in an age appropriate manner.

I would recommend this book to young readers who may enjoy spooky reads that also illustrate friendships, family, and how adventure can help solidify and support these relationships. As someone who doesn’t read middle grade often and struggles with popular middle grade titles, after reading this one I’m interested in picking up more middle grade in a similar genre.

This was a quick young-middle school read. I was intrigued by the premise, however the storyline had extremely little to do with “keep to small spaces”. That aspect didn’t really jive with the trajectory the story took on. Despite this, it had lots of action and creepy aspects.

The Winternight Trilogy is Katherine Arden’s main claim to literary fame, but Small Spaces proves that’s she just as adept - and perhaps even more so - at penning Middle Grade horror.

Like the very best MG horror authors throughout history, Arden understands that young readers want to be scared and are more willing to push themselves to cross the line into fear than most adults are. She executes the blend of terror and quiet moments perfectly, creating an end result that’s every bit as good as a John Bellairs novel.

Why did Ollie find a crying adult trying to get rid of an old book? What will Ollie find within its pages? And can she move past her grief enough to become a hero? These are the main themes of Small Spaces, and readers are certain to enjoy getting answers.

This book has a delightfully creepy vibe in some sections that stands above many moments of creepiness in adult horror. A good read for horror fans of all ages. As a MG book, there’s no gore, profanity, or sexual content. Instead, readers are treated to a story that needs none of those things to deliver on its scary premise.

This book grabbed me from the first page and I was totally hooked! A great middle grade read, perfect for fans of Mary Downing Hahn or R.L Stine. If you love spooky tales, this one is right up your alley! The main character had layers and showed kids they can get out of tough situations by making the right decisions, even when things are hard. Highly recommend this title to all ages and can't wait for the next installment. I bought this title for my library I loved it so much.

I simply loved this book. I received an ARC from Netgalley after I was drawn in by RL Stine’s endorsement that promised scares reminiscent of my childhood Goosebumps days. Even though this is a middle grade book and I’m middle of my thirties I throughly enjoyed this book! And yes, it did give me the chills! Ollie is a kick ass heroine that is perfect for young girls to step into her world and journey along this path of mystery and terror with. I loved it!

Awesome middle grade read. Just the perfect amount of spooky for young readers. Great pace and believable characters.

The grey and cold weather we are facing down here was the perfect backdrop for Small Spaces, a story that it set close to Halloween and gives off that creepy and dark October vibe. Although it shows that Small Spaces written for younger middle graders, it's probably still a fun read for the older half of the target group as well. The key is in the story giving off the right horror vibe with the help of the descriptions... Although I wish there would have more dept and development in both the worldbuilding and characters, I really liked the idea behind Small Spaces. Ollie is without doubt an interesting character, and it's understandable why she has the leading role in this first book of the series. It's true I would have loved to see her character more developed, but she did grow over time and I enjoyed learning more about her relationship with her parents. The writing is engaging and makes you fly through the pages... I did find some of the dialogue to be too childish and not all that natural, but overall Small Spaces was still an interesting read. The story in the book Ollie snatched from the mysterous lady, the mist, the disappearances, the situation Ollie, Coco and Brian find themselves in afterwards... They all give off that paranormal horror and ghost vibe that is both properly creepy while still being appropriate for the target group. Small Spaces is without doubt a story that would be perfect addition for your Halloween month TBR.

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

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden.
A fantastic read with some great characters. Creepy and eerie.
I liked Ollie. I liked the ending too. I liked the cover. 4*.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I loved this middle grade book! It didn't feel childish at all and was really well written. I loved the book from the 1800's that had the haunting story to tell and how that started everything. The school trip gone wrong was such a neat idea. I LOVED the world building the author creates for this book. It's so descriptive and creepy and everything about it was perfect for the story. Spooky smiling scarecrows? Such an awesome idea. This was an awesome book and everyone who enjoys creepy books should add this to their TBR!