Ollie is not all that interested in school. She used to be. She used to have friends and play softball and be part of the chess club. Now she just wants to be by herself and read. Her father and her teacher encourage her to get involved again, but she can’t be bothered. She just wants to go by herself to her favorite spot by the river and read her book.

But when Ollie gets there, she finds that she’s not alone. A woman was there, a woman who was clearly upset. She’d been crying, and Ollie heard her talking to herself. She was getting ready to throw a book into the water, but before she could fling the book in the river, Ollie grabbed it from her and ran. There’s no point in destroying a book like that, thought Ollie. And then she started reading it herself.

The small, worn book told the story of a woman who owned a farm and the tragedies that befell her family there. Two brothers loved her and wanted her to marry him. When she said yes to her true love, Jonathan, his younger brother Caleb got into a terribly fight with Jonathan and then disappeared. After he’d been missing for several days, Jonathan went looking for him. Unable to find Caleb, he called out in frustration and was answered by a “smiling man” who offered him a deal. The man would return Caleb, but Jonathan would have to do whatever he asked. Desperate, Jonathan agreed, and Caleb came home. However, he was never quite the same. Eventually, the smiling man appeared again and both brothers disappeared.

As Ollie reads this, she starts to recognize the farm and the family, who had recently moved back to take over the farm again. She wonders if the story is talking about what really happened on that farm generations ago. Then her classmates start talking about ghost stories that they had heard about the farm, a mysterious fire, and missing children.

A class field trip takes them to the farm in Ollie’s book, and more creepy things happen. The bus breaks down, and the bus driver goes for help, but he leaves the kids with a warning—beware wide open areas. Look for small spaces.

Small Spaces is a powerful middle grade story of the things that haunt us and how we can find ways to escape the darkness. With exquisitely crafted characters and meticulous descriptions, Katherine Arden has created a lush world of rich imaginings, delicious creepiness, and dramatic emotions. Small Spaces is a luscious novel to be savored by any age. Very highly recommended!

Galleys for Small Spaces were provided by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This was a thoroughly creepy middle grade novel that is age appropriate but action packed! Ollie, the main character, and her 2 friends were great characters. I liked that this middle grade novel wasn't just an obvious scary story but more nuanced and thoughtful... kinda made it more creepy! It would be a great fall, Halloween type read but honestly, I think MY 9 and 13 year olds would not be satisfied with the ending because it DID require you to kind of pay attention to details and they would probably not want to put that much thinking into what is supposed to be a fun read. In that sense, it wasn't super polished.

A creepy tale about children trapped in a nightmarish limbo with echoes of 80s-90s horro movies. I loved it, to say the least, and I'm eager to see what the author wrote in the next book. Perfect for baby bats and the children of adult Goths. This is a promising series!

Full review (Sept-10): https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2019/09/resena-review-small-spaces.html

Thank you to Netgalley and Katherine Arden for allowing me to read this book.

This is the perfect spooky read that should be added to everyone's Halloween TBR. It has the perfect atmosphere and just the right amount of creep factory. Its a short book so a fairly quick read and does not disappoint.

Highly recommended!!

This was such a great book to get me into the Halloween/Fall spirit!

Something that is really great about reading middle grade books from authors who also write books for adults is that the writing is incredible. The author is so descriptive in this book, which is great for children to read and then learn how to be a great writers from it.

This book held my attention from start to finish. The characters were well-written and enjoyable to follow. This is a book that I can’t wait to add to my classroom library for kids to read. I now want to go and pick up the sequel to this book.

Watch my video review of Small Spaces by Katherine Arden: https://youtu.be/cUZmaHVT3fU

I received an e-copy of this book from the publishers at Netgalley in exchange for my review and opinion and I absolutely loved it. Firstly, the characters are unique, witty and endearing. The plot is well defined and creepy, not in a gory way, but in a psychological atmospheric way. Moreover, the author covers some relevant topics like realistically coping with the loss of a loved one, and bullying. I also loved the story within a story concept and how we switch between Ollie and Beth's tales. Overall, this is a great Halloween like story and I enjoyed it.

This is my first read by Katherine Arden and I was not disappointed.
This book gave me the Scooby-Doo, Halloween, spooky feels. A nice little, easy Halloween holiday read.
Ollie's love for reading is so relatable, especially to us all in the book loving community. Her love of books makes me wish I started enjoying reading at a younger age; because well I could have read that many more books :) . While I enjoyed the quickness and ease to read this book I do wish there was a bit more in the descriptions in this book. Sometimes I find myself thinking the author just prolonged chapters by adding in some background; which is something I did find myself wishing for in this novel. However, it was still an enjoyable read.

I absolutely adored this middle grade spooky story and it was such a perfect read for me right now, as I’m desperately longing for the fall season! This story was written so well that at times it did not even feel like middle grade to me. It is written with an ease that could work for middle grade readers, teens and adults. And to top it all off, the “horror” factor in Small Spaces is actually pretty creepy, even for someone like me who loves horror! I was so impressed with the creepy way that Katherine Arden portrayed the scarecrows and the “Smiling Man,” it felt like reading a modernized version of a classic scary fairytale.

In Small Spaces the main character, Olivia (Ollie), is having a hard time coping with the loss of her mother and has retreated into herself, preferring not to make friends and just to read books instead. (Something I can definitely relate to!) When Ollie happens upon a strange woman trying to throw away a book into the river, she steals the book and unknowingly begins immersing herself in an all too real ghost story. When her school takes a trip to the nearby farm, Smoke Hollow, the next day and their bus breaks down on the way out of the farm, Ollie is forced to reconcile the book she’s been reading and the real world horror that is happening around them. Ollie and two other students escape the bus before nightfall and head into the woods, the creepy bus driver’s final words their only directions, “avoid large spaces. Keep to small.”

This story was just such a delight in so many ways. I absolutely loved the horror element of the story and how that played out, but the characters were so enjoyable as well. This story truly celebrates smart kids in so many ways. Ollie loves books and critical thinking. Coco, though being the smallest person and most often ridiculed in their class, loves rock climbing and is immensely brave. We find out later as Ollie gets to know Coco better, that Coco is also really good at chess. The third main character, Brian, is a super smart kid and Ollie also ends up finding out he reads a lot, despite being a popular jock kid. These three quickly become closer as they fight their way through this scary, shadowy world they are trapped in, and both Coco and Brian teach Ollie that people can surprise you, and you shouldn’t always confine them to predetermined cliches.

The ending and resolution of Ollie’s fight with the “smiling man” was also such a delight to read, because of it’s nod to clever tricksters and Ollie finding her own way around the smiling man’s “deals.” This story is also ultimately about Ollie finding her courage to live and participate in the real world again, even with her Mother being gone.

I loved this story so much and I can’t wait to read the next in the series, Dead Voices!

I got a copy of this from NetGalley and also bought my own ebook copy from Amazon Kindle too. I wasn't sure what to expect but I love how Katherine Arden writes so I wasn't too worried.

Ollie, hurting from the loss of her mother, finds herself thrust into a adventure she didn't bargain on. It starts with saving a book from being ruined and the story in the book creeps into her life until it's real and happening to her and her bus full of classmates, stuck on a road with a eerie bus driver and something coming for them all. Brian, a book lover and hockey player - and Coco, a city girl who loves chess and is a bit artsy and clumsy but should probably be in gymnastics, follow Ollie off the bus and into the smiling man's world of ghosts, deals and mazes.

I enjoyed it all very much, similar in theme perhaps to the cartoon "Over The Garden Wall" which has a pair of brothers exploring a otherworldly world, or the scarecrows that remind me of Doctor Who's Weeping Angels who move best in the dark and when you aren't looking. I think the smiling man reminded me of either the devil or a sorcerer like DC's Klarion. It's a wonderful mix of strange things that simply somehow work in the best of ways.

I did get to read the first chapter of the next book and also looked at the author's Twitter and so look forward to the winter/spring/summer books following each of this group of friends.

Note: This is edited from a longer post.

The "uncanny valley" describes the effect of the almost-but-not-quite-human-seeming creature or object on certain people. It was first used to describe humans' reactions to different kinds of robots, but it also suggests why clowns, masks, dolls, puppets, and even scarecrows show up so often in horror film and fiction. Two very different middle grade books that have come my way this summer take advantage of the uneasiness and ever fear caused by the inhabitants of the uncanny valley.. One of these is Small Spaces by Katherine Arden.

Ollie is dealing with intense grief, in this case after the death of her mother, but instead of having a large family for support, Ollie just has her dad, who is a great dad, but has his own grieving to do. Instead of sustaining friendships, Ollie has become withdrawn, and just wants to spend her time alone. When she goes to her favorite hideout, a nearby swimming hole, she encounters a terrified woman about to throw a book in the water, and, appalled, grabs it away. The woman warns her that since she's taken the book, she should remember to "keep to small spaces, or see what happens to you". 
Luckily, Olivia is an avid and curious reader, and immediately starts reading what appears to be a diary by one Cathy Webster titled Small Spaces, written 125 years ago for the author's daughter, as a warning to stay away from her family home in order to avoid being caught in a deal her father made with the "smiling man".  Intrigued, Ollie takes the book with her on a school field trip to a nearby farm. On the way, she learns that the farm her class will be visiting is the one described in the book she's reading, that the story really happened, and that since then a schoolhouse on the farm property has burned to the ground, with no evidence of survivors.

When she arrives at the farm, Ollie discovers it is covered in scarecrows on stakes, with garden tools for hands, and that it is owned by the woman she met at the swimming hole. On the way home, the school bus breaks down and the bus driver mutters to the students that "they'll come for the rest of you at nightfall". Olivia is able to get the bus driver to tell her that they'll all be taken by the servants of the "smiling man" to complete his bargain unless they leave the bus, run into the woods, and hide. The smiling man's servants can only move at night, so during the daytime, she can travel safely. Looking out the window as the sky darkens, it seems to her that there are more scarecrows than there were, and that they are getting nearer.

Ollie decides to leave the bus, and when she tells the other students, only two others choose to go with her, running into the forest and looking for a small space to hide as they see the scarecrows descend on the school bus. Lost in the woods and cornfields in freezing October weather, running from scarecrows and ghosts, Ollie and her classmates Brian and Coco have to find their classmates and break the smiling man's hold over them before they're caught themselves. The next day, as the three try to figure out what to do, Coco and Brian conclude that the scarecrows are like robots or puppets, and the smiling man must be the puppet master. Malevolent scarecrows, especially in a bleak October cornfield, are actually more uncanny, in my opinion, than puppets are. The mental image of a crowd of scarecrows spearing the ground with their stakes, with garden forks for hands, grabbing at sixth graders crowded into a small space, or corralling an entire class silently across the forest, is creepy and dread-inducing.

Ollie, Brian, and Coco are not friends when the story begins. Coco is a clumsy city kid with pink hair who is ignored and bullied, Brian is a popular hockey player, and Olivia has no interest in learning more about them. Her only connection with them is that she threw a rock at Brian for picking on Coco the previous day.  For Ollie, both turn out to have unexpected depths: Brian isn't a dumb jock-- he's an avid reader with a strong imagination who feels real anguish over what has happened to his friends. Coco is a klutz on the ground, but graceful and fearless as a climber, and fascinated by chess. I really liked the depiction of these two characters, especially Brian's, as it's rare to see a "popular jock" character with any more dimensionality to it, especially a boy. Ollie's father was also an enjoyable change from father stereotypes that often appear in fiction, and even though Ollie's mother is no longer alive during the time the book takes place, she is a vivid presence in the book. It's easy to see how deeply Ollie feels her grief and the effect it has had on her: her confrontation with the smiling man and the choice she has to make at the end of the book, while somewhat predictable, is wrenching.

Small Spaces has a well-developed setting that is almost a character itself, a story from the past that has strongly influenced the present, and uncanny creatures that create a sense of unease, dread, or even fear. Ghost stories are popular with middle-grade and middle school readers, and while I enjoy those, this is a refreshing change.

Review copy courtesy of NetGalley.

I love middle grade horror, and although this book had a lot of backstory to get to the creepiness, I will definitely purchase for my library. Definitely plan to booktalk during October!

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 would give Small Spaces a Tween rating. There is no sex. There is no language. There is mild violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 13 read this book.

I would reread Small Spaces. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

I loved this book and wish I had a middle-grade reader I could share it with. “Small Spaces” is exactly the kind of creepy Halloween-y book I’d have wanted to read when I was a kid. It’s an inventive story and the descriptions are so well-done I could practically see the street lined with pumpkins and smell the freshly baked bread in Ollie’s house. Ollie is a headstrong protagonist, not always the nicest, but smart and tough and resourceful and the kind of character I’d like a young reader to spend time with. I enjoyed this book so much, I pre-ordered the sequel!

A spooky middle school book that students are sure to love.!
This story follows Ollie, Brian, and Coco as they try and survive evil scarecrows, ghosts, and a creepy smiling man.

After a school field trip, 6th grade students find their bus broken down on the side of the road. After the teacher leaves for help, the bus driver gives some ominous advice to Ollie. Not sure why, she takes the advice and get off the bus. Brian and Coco follow. The three set out on an adventure that leads them into the woods. The deeper they go, the weirder things get. The trio must find a way to survive the night, and then save their friends before it too late.

What a great book! I read this to see if it was appropriate for my 8 yr old and I’m so glad I did. She’s going to love this. Spooky enough to creep her out but not too scary where she’ll be having nightmares. I love the message behind this book. Family. Friends. Trust.

The plot, the mystery, the pace of the book were all really good (even though it became a favourite for me only after hitting the 50% mark), but the things I loved the most about this book are its characters and the way the author made their personalities interact. I think she really wanted to make a point in showing that sometimes people surprise you, and that we shouldn't base our judgment on prejudice. That is why the guy that loves sport isn't dumb - it turns out he can quote Alice in Wonderland by heart -, the girl that is always pretty and well-dressed is actually a free climber, and friendship can blossom even in the most unlikely scenarios.

I also wanted to add that I believe writing a kid's book and managing to scare the reader isn't easy at all: the author has to create the right proportion between what is mildly spooky and something that could seriously bother the child, and also choose the right topics and tropes that work on a child's mind. This one does a very good job on it, and I definitely got R. L. Stine vibes... ☠️



BOO! 😈

Small Spaces definitely kept me reading! It has the creepy factor that I love. Middle grade students or readers who are looking for a haunting, a mystery or a ghost story will love it. The characters are well formed and lovable. I will be watching for other books by Katherine Arden for sure.

**FULL REVIEW**

Slow start, even to the point of skimming because there is a great amount of detail I felt was rather unnecessary, especially considering this is a middle grades book. My attention wasn’t held well through the first quarter of this book, but I refused to give up. I have kids who may one day want an easy read with some thrilling aspects...

Found it!

At roughly 40% in, something clicked and I kept turning pages. I thought about all the possibilities of what could happen and why when I wasn’t able to read...and here I am, done with this little nugget of middle grade suspense...a little bit of scary, some supernatural components, and an ending that caused my eyes to go blurry.

Really can’t ask for much more than that.

I hope to recommend this book to a friend with younger children, it’s one that is perfect for the kid who wants more than just the basic young and middle reader books.

**4 Are You Scared, Crow? Stars**

I enjoyed this book so much. It brought back memories from when I was in grade school and would read GOOSEBUMPS by R.L. Stine.

The story it self is a quick fast paced read, and creepy at the same time. I love it. I would totally recommend school libraries to add this to their collection.

This is my honest opinion.

Rating 5/5

(The book was perfect and the purple cover gave me life)

After wowing reader's with her spell bounding The Bear and the Nightingale series, Katherine Arden turns her pen to middle grade fiction with Small Spaces.
A fun, spooky adventure in the vein of the Goosebumps series, it follows the story of 11-year-old Ollie, a prolific reader who finds herself in the middle of her own ghost story following a school trip.
With a fast-paced narrative, age appropriate mystery and some softer creepy moments - including some reanimated scarecrows - this is a perfect story for young audiences to whet their appetite on the horror genre.