The Small Spaces series by Katherine Arden has been one of my favorite spooky middle-grade series since it began in 2018. Dark Waters is the third and penultimate book in the series and it is set during the springtime, after book one which was set in autumn/fall, and book two in winter.

In Dark Waters, Coco, Ollie, and Brian have spent the months since the events of Dead Voices researching everything they can about the Smiling Man, but to no avail. They live every day in fear of what he will do next, and the stress is beginning to take its toll—even their parents have begun to notice that something is amiss. When they are all invited on a day trip aboard a sailing ship on the local lake, they jump at the chance to relax for a day, even if the lake is supposedly home to both a monster and a lost ship from local legend.

However, their trip is cut short when their boat is attacked and they find themselves marooned on an uncharted island. Here they find messages carved on trees, a mysterious ax-wielding man, and fish hooks hanging from trees. All the while, Ollie’s dad is succumbing to a strange illness brought on by whatever sank their boat. Can the kids find their way off the island in time to save everyone?

This was a great third entry to the series but ended up not being my favorite due to its shockingly abrupt ending that quite literally came out of nowhere. The pacing felt a little off somehow, and I never had the same sense of creeping foreboding on the island that I did from the haunted/otherwordly spaces of the previous two books. I also felt that there wasn’t enough focus on the Smiling Man in this one, nor were some of my favorite series elements like Ollie’s magical watch included enough.

What I did absolutely love was the subplot of the axman. While it was fairly obvious from his introduction who he was—at least to me reading as an adult—there were several twists to his story I didn’t see coming that were all linked to an incredibly tragic and touching backstory. This ended up being a truly beautiful little story within a story and one of my favorite parts of the whole Small Spaces saga.

While Dark Waters isn’t my favorite of the three books so far, it does a great job of setting up a dramatic conclusion to the series. I’m already looking forward to reading the final book, but with no indication so far of when that will be coming out, I’m going to have to live with this cliffhanger for the foreseeable future.

Just when you thought Vermont was safe for the trio from Small Spaces and Dead Voices, a blood-thirsty sea serpent shows up to trap them and their families on an island that only they can see. As in the previous books in the series, Arden ratchets up the intensity bit by bit until the reader doesn't dare put the story down. A very satisfying middle grade tale of horror.

Creepy, fun, and a nice bounce back for the series after a disappointing second book.

I loved Small Spaces for both its plot and its atmosphere, so I’ve been a little bit bummed that the rest of the series hasn’t quite measured up on either count.

Though the setting had loads of potential, Dead Voices just wasn’t a very good book. Dark Waters is much better, and I am relieved.

Though it can’t compete with the delightfully macabre atmosphere of Small Spaces, this is a good story and has some fun creepy pirate/shipwreck vibes.

I’m not sure this series needed a fourth kid, and Phil isn’t especially interesting. But the rest of the characters are pretty well-rendered and not obnoxious, which is always a danger with middle reader books that are kids’ POV.

The whole all adults are blithering idiots thing remains a clunky people of the story and I’m still a bit confused about who the intended audience is for these, but I’m glad the story has rebounded a bit in book three.

After reading Small Spaces and Dead Voices, I was really looking forward to reading Dark Waters. I loved the trio of Ollie, Coco, and Brian and enjoyed the creepiness of the Smiling Man in the first two books. This story, however, didn't feel the same. Although there was definitely some good creepy fun, and a sense of urgency, not a whole lot really seemed to happen and the story just ends abruptly (with a massive cliffhanger). It really feels as if the story isn't finished and was just cut in half with the 2nd part of the story being the next book. I will definitely read the next book because I want to see how this all ends, but as a standalone book I don't really think this one is as good as the first two were.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ollie, Brian, and Coco go on a trip to Lake Champlain to learn about an aquatic monster that lives in the laske, but the trip soon turns into a nightmare. When the sailing boat gets shipwrecked during a freak storm, the party gets stranded on an island. To survive, they must use their problem-solving and survival skills to unlock cryptic clues left by their foe, “the smiling man.” Will they succeed in stopping their foe once and for all? A light ghost story with a well-developed plot, readers will be drawn in hook, line, and sinker. The characters are easy to relate to and have a lot of depth. Readers who like ghost stories, folklore, and mythology will enjoy reading this book. You will, however, need to read the others in the series first. 3.5 stars, Gr 3 to 7.
Please note: This was a review copy given to us by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial compensation was received.

In the third installment of this series, Brian, Coco, and Ollie have yet another run in with the Smiling Man. This leaves them on edge, so the idea of a boat excursion as part of research that Coco’s mom is doing for an article sounds like a great idea. They might even get a chance to see Champ, the elusive lake monster that legend says lives in Lake Champlain. The boat trip does not go as planned and the trio is stranded on an uncharted island with Coco’s mom, Ollie’s dad, Brian’s buddy Phil—and a mysterious monster. The friends will have to work together to ensure everyone’s survival. This was an engaging and suspenseful book and a dramatic cliffhanger at the end that sets up the fourth installment. Middle grade horror fans will devour this one!

Readers familiar with Ollie, Coco, and Brian from Katherine Arden's first two installments of the Small Spaces Trilogy will delight in the return of the trio as they once again find themselves being haunted by the smiling man.

After a loud boom and a power outage at Brian's family's inn, the three friends find a mysterious warning message signed only by --S. Could the smiling man still be after them? Brian, Coco, and Ollie are anxious to find out what the message is about, but investigating will have to wait since they plan to set sail on Lake Champlain that weekend. Rumor has it that Lake Champlain is home to Vermont's very own Loch Ness monster, nicknamed Champ, and Coco's mom is planning on writing a piece about the lake and it's monster for the local paper.

Brian is excited to be on a sailing boat with his two best friends. That is, until another passenger on the boat makes a mistake that sets off a chain of events leading to the passengers being shipwrecked on an island and being stalked by a monster that appears to travel both by land and by water.

Could "Champ", the lake monster be real? Is the smiling man behind the tragedy that lands the friends on the island? Brian is willing to do whatever it takes to save his friends and get them all back home.

This was a fast paced installment of the Small Spaces series, but the ending was really abrupt. My e-reader showed that there were 50 pages left and seemed to glitch a bit with a preview of Small Spaces showing at the end more than one time.

The end of the book did have a cliffhanger that felt more like an end of chapter event to me, almost like an event that was building up to the climactic confrontation with the villain that you expect to see/hear from more directly. This could have been the build up to book four, but seemed like it should have been resolved at the end of book three, as it was in the previous two titles.

I enjoyed the book, but found the end lacking.

This was a great, quick read with lots of suspense and mystery. However, there are books that should have been read first and I wasn't aware of that until more than halfway through. So, highly recommend but read Small Spaces and Dark Voices first, which is what I am going to do now. I am sure it will fill in a lot of gaps I had in my reading and make the story line even better. Also, it ends in a cliffhanger so expect another book! :)

This is bk 3 of a series of stories. A group of children are involved in bizarre and scary events. Ollie, Coco, Brian and Phil have gone thru terrifying situations with the “smiling man”- in this adventure they are trying to figure out clues to save themselves and end up spnding the day out on a ship looking for a monster called Champ. Things go from bad to worse. Great story for ages 10.& up.

Brian, Ollie and Coco are back and anxiously waiting to see what will happen next with the Smiling Man after they defeated him in Dead Voices. They are scared to look in mirrors and keep doors locked. When they get a black round paper from him with a message they try to figure it out to keep clear of him. AS the three friends take a boat trip with Ollie's dad and Coco's mom, they end up in dangerous peril after passing through a fog and end up on an uncharted island, with no boat, a scary monster, and a ghost.

I was very disappointed in this one. I loved the first two books in the series and hope that the 4th book will come back strong to finish the series.

https://techyreader.blogspot.com/2021/07/dark-waters-small-spaces-3-by-katherine.html

Dark Waters, Katherine Arden's third and latest installment in her _Small Spaces_ series, provides an enjoyable, suspenseful, and well-paced read for middle-school readers. While I am an ardent fan of Arden's Russian folktale-spiced Winternight trilogy, I was unaware of this particular series, prior to NetGalley's ARC offering. Fortunately, even though _Dark Waters_ takes place mid-series, the free-standing tale holds its own--it's not necessary to have read the first two installments, as Arden deftly catches neophyte readers up to speed via swift backstory detailing. Dark Waters reunites the main three characters of the previous books: Brian Battersby, who's half-Jamaican, and his two female friends, Coco and Ollie, and a fourth character, Paul, Brian’s former best friend, from whom Brian has subsequently become estranged. The intrepid seventh graders have already survived two harrowing encounters in a parallel fantasy universe inhabited by the malevolent, mysterious Smiling Man, and in this story, set in East Evansburg, Vermont, once again, they must challenge the Smiling Man and the forces of darkness. From the very outset, Arden creates a foreboding mood: stormy weather, blackouts, shadows, mysterious messages from beyond, the eerie feeling of being watched, strange footsteps and scratching—it’s no wonder that the friends, haunted by recurring memories of their previous adventures, are alert to any whiff of danger. Coco’s mom, a journalist, who’s researching a story on a local tour operator, invites the friends and the other parents for a fun day of boating, and maybe the prospect of sighting the elusive local Loch Ness monster, Champ, in the waters of Lake Champlain. Predictably, since this is a fantasy novel, the excursion is far from an idyllic picnic on the lake. Without divulging any major spoilers, suffice it to say that Dark Waters delivers a supernatural survival tale, complete with uncanny encounters, pirates, narrow death-defying escapes, and a Faustian bargain, ending with a cliffhanger that sets readers up in anticipation for the final, fourth installment. Yet Arden also provides humor, warm moments spent with family and friends, realistic dialogue, and a cast of care-aboutable characters in whom readers are invested. A fun summer read!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Just gonna say make sure you read the other two books before this one. I read book one many months ago, saw it was offered to read and review, and asked to review it. Got approved via NetGalley, okay. Halfway through, I am thinking, hard man, these characters sound familiar. I read a book with these characters and these memories, and please do not let this be stolen work from an author. Well, it was NOT! What I read many months before was the first book, and I enjoyed it. So did not know this author had booked two and three, so imagine my surprise when I found out I was reading book three. I was halfway done when I noticed this and did not want to stop to read book two, so I just continued. I don't think I missed too much in book two, just maybe the smiling man and what is going on with these characters.
Brian, Coco, and Ollie know never to let their guard down because they will have to face off and defeat the smiling man one day. They are all so stressed that even their parents notice a change in their demeanor; they are so different. So when the parents decide to take everyone on a boat trip, it is much more than they will ever bargain for. It will be a fight to keep everyone alive and truly using their brain to figure out their next step. I enjoyed the ghost aspect of it because, at times, I totally forgot that is who they were dealing with. The lake monster is a doozy, and I loved how the island was set up to detect when it was coming. This lake monster is not your normal monster. There will be surprises and a lot of mystery; I don't want to give a lot away, so just pick the book up and read it. I will say this I see book four coming because we left on a cliffhanger, and I am now more than excited to read it and find out what will happen to our characters next.

First of all, that cover? Amazing. It's definitely my favourite of the series. But this didn't nudge out book two for sheer spooky creepy excellence, unfortunately.

Now spring (following fall and then winter themes for books one and two), this trio of besties are still researching ways to defeat their nemesis the Smiling Man. Their adventures have taken a toll, as has their preoccupation, and so they jump on the opportunity to spend some time outdoors, away from small spaces and mirrors and any situation that might provoke another encounter, and go sailing. But they still can't escape a brush, and more, with the otherworldly forces.

This particular scary story didn't grip me quite the same way as the last book; Arden still did a great job with the vibe, and sending a few twists along the way (the ghost in this story was so good, and heartbreaking), but the story didn't feel as tight or focused. I wish it had been longer, had spent more time building some suspense, digging into the feeling of isolation or more. But maybe that's just the adult in me talking. That said, this did feel more like a build up to the cliffhanger and thus the big finale to come in book four. I still did enjoy it, though, and especially loved seeing the parents get mixed into things, as well as a new friend. Mostly, I'm just excited to reread/binge this series when book four comes out.

If you, or the younger human in your life, is into the spookier side of things ala <i>Goosebumps</i>, I definitely recommend.

This book HAD me from the cover art alone. It's the 3rd in the Small Spaces series & the reader would do well to read the first two before. Does not disappoint!

Dark Waters manages to be both a completely satisfying story and one that leaves you wanting more. All three of the stories in this series so far were chillingly, creepily entertaining! I'm thrilled to see it listed as a quartet, so that readers like me can get the "more" we are looking for via another thrilling adventure sometime in the future. This installment in particular is paced perfectly! It invites you back into the world of the characters, reminds you of their troubles in books 1 and 2, and climbs you right into the thick of the danger, so that by the time you reach that point, you are no longer able to put the book down . You must keep reading to find out what will happen. As the cover and the title suggest, our characters find themselves in trouble out on the water where things lurk and hunt. A delightful mix of spooky, danger, adventure, survival, and the bonds of friendship that form when you have to face challenges such as they have together.

I absolutely adore this series! I read a lot of Middle Grade horror, and Katherine Arden does it the best. I loved Dark Waters just as much as the first two books, and I am so happy I had the opportunity to read it!

I have grown to really love this series and greatly anticipate the next installment. Again, Arden creates a unique and spooky setting that just feels perfect for the story. The story had similar elements that we are used to from this series but also a few differences that kept things fresh. I love the amount of spooky, it’s enough to give you those chills but not enough to keep you up at night. Can’t wait for the next one!!

“He’s lived in dread for months, but now that something bad had happened, he felt calm. Somehow actual, specific danger was better than danger that you imagined but couldn’t see.”

In the third installment of Arden’s Small Spaces series, we catch up with Ollie, Brian, and Coco. After having met and outsmarted the scary Smiling Man, they are now searching for a way to permanently defeat him. While they think they’re safe for now, they know the Smiling Man will come back and when the friends hang out together, first hints are shown—flickering lights, doors opening without the slightest of touch that raise their hackles. When Coco’s mother tells them about a trip she has to take for work on Lake Champlain, the trio is all too happy to tag along. What promises to be a fun adventure derails quickly when Brian’s old best friend Phil shows up on the boat and the lake monster Coco’s mother is investigating turns out to be more than just a legend. Stranded on a mysterious island, the gang will have to do their best to stay alive as past events come back to haunt them.

Dark Waters really brought the anxiety the characters were feeling to life. Throughout the story, there was this underlying sense of dread and it guaranteed that my shoulders never lodged from their place up to my ears. Much more so than in previous books, the fear and anxiousness is anticipatory; the characters and especially Brian who we follow this time around, are more scared for what’s to come than having something actual to face. You’d think that would feel like a reprieve after having had to face the Smiling Man in the second installment, and yet I found myself much more prone to jump scares in this one. We also get to see Brian take charge when they’re stranded on the island and together with Coco and Phil, relationships and problems are tackled.

Beyond the mysterious island that is hidden away in fog and apparently invisible to the outside world, I loved how Brian’s story focused on his friendships and especially the initial awkwardness with Phil where you don’t know how much he really remembers that caused tension between all five of them. Despite their differences and their muddled past, in the end the friends band together when push comes to shove. Since I don’t want to spoil anything about this book, I’ll just say that the ending definitely ramped up the stakes once more and I’m now anxiously awaiting the conclusion to this dark, creepy middle-grade series. If you haven’t picked up this series yet, now is the perfect time to do so, if only to suffer with us all through the wait for the final book.

Oh my goodness. This series is one of my favorites! This is the third in the quartet and readers are following with the third main character’s perspective, Brian. Brian, Ollie, and Coco go on a spur of the moment boat trip on Lake Champlain with Ollie's dad and Coco's mom. The trio is quite anxious, and they have their reasons. On the trip all that could go wrong, goes wrong... The eerie story of the lake monster? Yeah, it is real. The unsettling thoughts and the island that the group ends up on will give readers the chills. To be shipwrecked on a deserted island is quite the nightmare, especially when fog, monsters, and a crazy man are in the midst. This book makes me eager to see whose perspective the final book will be. I have my guesses… but I cannot wait! Another nail-biting spooky story from Arden.