"Avoid large places. Keep to small."

First off, this book is CREEPY! If you're looking for a Halloween read this year, look no further, you have found the perfect read. Small Spaces is a very quick read, I read it in two sittings and once I was sucked in I couldn't put the book down until I finished it. And then I had to try a go to sleep... Haha.

This is my first Katherine Arden book and I'm sure more will follow. I will for sure be reading the rest of this MG series. Middle grade seem to have so much better spooky/horror stories compared to YA and I will be looking for more of them for sure. But Small Spaces isn't just about the spooky stuff. We follow Ollie, a 12 year old girl who has lost her mom and has trouble dealing with her grief. She finds refuge in books and I think we can all relate to that. Grief is a big theme in this story, but letting your friends in is very important as well. And I think Katherine wrote this story so well and in such a way that it might help younger kids with both.

Small Spaces isn't super long so I don't want to say to much about it. The synopsis tells you half of the book already. But what I can say is that scarecrows are CREEPY. I loved that Ollie started to open up to her friends and that they really worked together. Coco and Brian were pretty inspiring characters as well, I loved that Coco didn't lose her positivity no matter the bullying and that Brian was different than he first appears. But of course Ollie was my favorite. I can't wait to read more about this trio and will be looking forward to Dead Voices.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars- This title is written for young readers, but can be enjoyed by all ages. I am an elementary school librarian and would recommend it to the 4-6th graders as it may be a little intense for younger readers. I could see it being a fun read a loud as it is definitely a story that grabs your attention and keeps you wondering what is going to happen. It is a fun fantasty mystery with a little dark edge. I enjoyed reading it and found the story to be creative, interesting, and fun.

I enjoyed Katherine Arden's Winternight Trilogy, and I love creepy stories....so I knew I would like this book! :) Great story!

Olivia (only her mother got to call her that .... call her Ollie, or face her anger!) has been through a lot. Most of the time she deals as best she can...but she is really beginning to hate pity and sympathy from adults, teachers and other kids. She finds comfort in her books...and her mom's old smart watch that she never, ever takes off her wrist. One day her life takes an unexpected strange turn when she comes across a woman standing at a creek. The woman is preparing to throw a book into the water. As a book lover, Ollie sees this as such a waste....and on a whim, she swoops in and steals the book, running away with it. At home, she starts to read.....and gets pulled into the creepy tale of Beth, two young men who love her, and a frightening deal made with a supernatural being called "The Smiling Man.'' Little does Ollie know that The Smiling Man is more than a boogie man in a book. Much, much more.

I loved this story!!! I'm a big fan of horror....even horror stories written for children. This story is well told...and truly creepy. I listened to the audio book version of this scary tale while canning tomatoes in my kitchen. It was a bright and sunny summer day.....but this tale made me dream of crisp, fall afternoons with scarecrows blowing in the breeze. I always felt a bit creeped out by scarecrows....and this story only heightened their creep factor.

The audio book, narrated by Renee Dorian, is just over 5 hours long. Dorian reads at a nice, steady pace and gives a great performance. Very enjoyable listen!

There is nothing age-inappropriate in this story. Middle grade kids who can handle some horror elements would love this story. For kids that still have a bit of fear of things that might go bump in the night.....they might want to read something else. There is nothing too graphic or blood-curdling....but the story is a bit scary. Be aware.

Great read!! It really got me primed for the upcoming Halloween season (It's August as I write this review)! Time to start reading creepy stories now! :) I won't be able to look a scarecrow in the face by October!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Penguin via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

I thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. This author was new to me and I was not let down. It was a great story and very well written. The characters were easy to relate to and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend this to everyone!! 5 stars!!

This was a good read. Small spaces has just enough spooky and the perfect amount of thriller mixed in to keep you reading until the very last page.

This was my first book by the author, and I've already put a hold on her other books at our library. I really enjoyed her writing style, even if this book was written for a younger crowd.
And bring a book for younger kids, I found myself wishing for such a book when my kids were the right age . I think this would be a fun and exciting story for parent and child to share.
I did have issues with the downloading & formatting for the e-ARC, and thr formatting issues did distract me from the overall story. But when the book is published in sure the formatting will be perfected, and I almost envy those who get to read this book for the first time.

This creepy story takes place in East Evansburg, Vermont. It is October and Olivia “Ollie” Adler is distracted from her sixth-grade lessons. Her mind is focused on the pain of losing her mother. She seeks comfort in books and reads them at her secret swimming hole. One day she hears a strange, crying and witnesses a woman who is about to cast a book entitled Small Spaces into the water. Why Ollie wonders, so she steals the book and in return receives a warning: “Avoid large places at night.…Keep to small.” Soon she is wrapped up in the book’s haunting story of loss and a deal made with a being known as “The Smiling Mam.”

One day Ollie’s class takes a field trip to Misty Valley Farm. It is here that Ollie learns the truth behind Small Spaces. After the activity bus breaks down, and the bus driver turns very strange, and no one has cell phone service, and the only chaperone leaves the class behind to enlist help, the story becomes frightening.

I was excited to read a horror book geared to middle schoolers, but while this one was creepy it didn’t suck me into the plot. I’ve taken kids on field trips many many times and a stranded bus full of kids, no adults and no way to communicate for help us a scary thing.

To me the book was just okay. I believe it will have many readers but not a novel patrons will anxiously await.

(Horror. 8-13)

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.

I devoured this book. It's creepy good fun. I loved everything about it. I loved the journey of Olivia and coming to terms with her mom. I loved how they resolved the challenge presented by the smiling man. As a middle grade book, it's scary enough to delight children but not enough to make this book inaccessible. There was enough of a mystery to keep the reader guessing but not so hard that the reader feels cheated (or too easy). It was just a really good book.

This is a great high interest book for middle grade readers who are looking for a spooky read. This has Goosebumps and R.L. Stine level horror. This takes place around Halloween, making it especially fun for a Halloween season read. Pumpkins, cornfields, and scarecrows add to the eerie atmosphere.

Young readers will be able to relate to the main character and her two classmates, who become friends and a strong trio. They face adversity and rely on themselves and each other, finding their owns strengths and recognizing each other’s. There is a storyline that deals sensitively with Ollie mourning the death of her mother and working through her relationship with her father.

This is the first book in a series. Although it can be read as a stand-alone, I believe that young readers will want to find out what happens in the next book.

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 was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Losing a parent is never easy, so when 11-year-old Ollie loses her mother she turns to books for comfort. One night Ollie finds a lady crying and trying to throw a book into the river. Ollie grabs the book from the woman and runs. Once she is home with it safely, she starts reading the story about a woman named Beth, her farm and the two men that loved her. The next day Ollie's class go on a field trip to a local farm. Things seem to be perfectly normal until the bus tries to drive home and the bus stops working suddenly. Driven by a creepy suspicion that something is about to happen, Ollie sneaks away from the bus. Followed by two of her friends, she faces the woods and all the creepy scarecrows. Now Ollie must find out if she is simply suspicious or if there is something more sinister happening at the farm.

I thought this book was entertaining. It was a fun little tale with good characters. I really like Ollie, she was... something else. She had quite a few good traits and I loved her personality. Coco and Brian were also good characters. The way their friendship came into being and blossomed was satisfyingly fleshed out. I felt the entire story was fleshed out well for a middle grade read.

I found Small Spaces to be a fun and creepy read. I loved how it had the creepy factor without being actually scary. It's the perfect Halloween book for those middle grade readers who don't want anything too scary.

#SmallSpaces #NetGalley
The most creepy and wonderful book for middle grade readers. The book covers many genres and the characters are ones you want to root for all through out the book. I hadn't read Katherine Arden before, but will going back to try out some of her others books. I have seen her on the shelf before just passed them by for whatever reason. I will be highly recommending her from now on. A definite must read for anyone who likes a scary, creepy, and thoughtful book.

When I was 12 years old I read Firestarter and Cujo by Stephen King. I never wanted to be around a barn or go near big dogs after reading those books. I actually swore off King's books until I was 29 years old. At 12 years old the psychological thriller was taken to heart and internalized. The thrill was fantastic until I walked out the door.

Every so often you come across a book that you expected to be one way, such as Small Spaces where this is for young kids and can't be that scary, and then it becomes something even better than you thought. This is that book. Let's talk about how a Middle-Grade book can scare the living daylights out of an adult and still be appropriate for 11, 12, 13 and 14 years old. Yup, this is that book. This book is perfect not only during the fall season but all year long. Let's talk about a girl who has lost her mother in a plane accident who loves to read and comes across a frightened woman and steals her book. That is this book. A thriller, a book with a strong female protagonist, and a budding friendship even when one wasn't looked for or wanted because of a brave choice to follow one girl who everyone thinks has had a breakdown and is nuts. That is this book. This book is also a book to scare you out of your wits at night. It is a book that is well written, the characters are people you know. It is a book that not only your middle-grade age child will like but you will too. I'm glad as an adult I don't have to get on another school bus ever again after reading this book. Psychologically, I might have to think hard about whether I would step up into that a big yellow vehicle ever again! This thriller is that good.

I want to thank Netgalley and Katherine Arden for the opportunity to read this book. It was wonderful.

I suspect if this book had been around when I was 12 years old, it would have been one of my favorites. This book grabbed my inner child and gave it a big squeeze. I have always loved ghost stories, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. Small Spaces has all the ingredients of a classic ghost story.

I won't rehash the plot here, because I don't want to steal the pleasure of the reader finding out what happens for him- or herself. But I want to highlight a couple of the book's strengths:
1) The characters were authentic, not sanitized cutouts of what an adult thinks children *should* be like. (This has always been my frustration with children's books. It frustrated me to no one when I was a kid. That's why I couldn't get into Fear Street even though I desperately wanted to.)

2) Katherine Arden knows how to set a mood. Last year I read her adult fantasy trilogy, which was completely different than Small Spaces, but it was clear to me that she's a writer to pay attention to. She's a master storyteller who knows how to create a fictional universe where you can become fully immersed.

I was thrilled to discover there is a sequel coming out to Small Spaces later this year. Even though I'm 43 years old instead of 12, I can't wait to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There is something about our human nature that likes to be scared, we like suspense, we like things that are creepy and this book, Small Spaces by Katherine Arden, delivers on all three of those feelings. If you are looking for something to keep your middle-grader satisfied with the “do you have something scary?” desire but they aren’t ready to be reading things that will have them sleeping with the lights on, this is it!
Eleven-year-old Ollie’s mother has recently passed away and Ollie finds herself, on the eve of a field trip to Smoke Hallow rescuing a book from being thrown in a river by a mysterious woman. The book warns about “smiling men”, and on her field trip she and her two friends see all kinds. It is when she wanders off and finds a grave yard and the headstones from the people that are in the book she rescued, she realized this isn’t an ordinary field trip.
Ollie has been warned by three different sources to avoid large places and keep to the small but will this be enough to keep her and her fiends safe when her school bus breaks down?
I enjoyed reading Small Spaces and I think most thrill seeking middle graders will too!

Thank you netgalley for the free ebook in exchange of an honest review.

Small Spaces was an addicting and atmospheric middle-grade mystery that is perfect to read during the fall season! It was fast-paced, creepy, and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time; if I read this as a child it would've terrified me.

I really enjoyed the three main characters and was really impressed with Olivia's overall growth. While this is more of a "scary" story, grief was a main theme throughout the entire book. The way Katherine Arden wrote in this type of heartache choked me up a few times but I really appreciated the overall message of the ones you love always staying with you.

While I found myself really enjoying this book, the ending was extremely unsatisfying which brought down my rating significantly.

When she sees a woman toss a book into the water, Ollie steals it from her. Inside, she finds a strange and creepy story about a smiling man, a bargain, and the haunting culmination of events. When she goes on a class trip to Smoke Hollow, a farm with a haunting past, Ollie finds the graves of the people in the book. Soon she starts receiving ominous warnings from the book, the bus driver, and others. On the way back the bus breaks down and a broken watch starts giving instructions. The numerous headings tell her to “keep to small”. What could “keep to small” mean? But, isn’t the book just fiction? Who or what is after them? This creepy, intense, page-turning plot draws readers into the story. The characters are mysterious and peak the reader’s interest. Fans of horror and mystery will enjoy reading this book.

This was a fun middle grade "scary story". It wasn't over the top scary so those who want to dip their toes into horror but don't want to be terrified, this would be a good one to start with. It still has Arden's beautiful writing while being whimsical enough to appeal to young readers. This book is perfect for Halloween/fall time when you really want to read something spooky. This is reminiscent of reading RL Stine’s Fear Street series for me as a kid, which I loved!

This follows Ollie, a 6th grade girl who has recently lost someone very close to her. She is grieving and uses books as a coping mechanism. She comes across a strange book by even stranger circumstances, but she doesn’t know that this book will save her and her friends on a very weird field trip. As the trip unfolds, Ollie teams up with two of her classmates, Brian and Coco, to figure out what is going on and try to find a way out of what seems like a nightmare. The trio is warned to stay in small spaces to stay safe. Guided by the book and prompts from Ollie’s watch, the trio faces scary situations and creatures on their way to save their class and themselves.

Overall, this was a fun little book and I’m looking forward to Dead Voices. I love Arden’s writing and I really enjoyed this.

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.