Well-drawn characters, although many of the plot points are well-trod. But I enjoyed it nonetheless and will likely read the next in the series. ( )

I really did wind up enjoying this book. I wound up listening to the audiobook and found it to be super fast pace read. I really did love the setting in the book and also the winter setting in this book. I felt that because this a second book in the series, I felt much more connected to the characters and the plot in this read. I really enjoyed how the parents had much more active role in this book and this book had some really creepy and eerie elements, I would rec this as a fall read for sure. This book def was more my style over book one and I really enjoyed the winter themed setting and will be really exited to dive into the other books in this series as well. ( )

I really did wind up enjoying this book. I wound up listening to the audiobook and found it to be super fast pace read. I really did love the setting in the book and also the winter setting in this book. I felt that because this a second book in the series, I felt much more connected to the characters and the plot in this read. I really enjoyed how the parents had much more active role in this book and this book had some really creepy and eerie elements, I would rec this as a fall read for sure. This book def was more my style over book one and I really enjoyed the winter themed setting and will be really exited to dive into the other books in this series as well. ( )

4.5 stars. I just wanted a little more from the ending, but otherwise this was a great and fun read. Perfect for fall time. ( )

Small Spaces is a spooky, engaging, fast-paced story about an eleven-year-old girl named Ollie and a book she stole and where this act leads her.

After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn't think--she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read the slender volume, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both 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.

Ollie is captivated by the tale until her school trip the next day to Smoke Hollow, a local farm with a haunting history all its own. There she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about. Could it be the story about the smiling man is true? Ollie doesn't have too long to think about the answer to that. On the way home, the school bus breaks down, sending their teacher back to the farm for help. But the strange bus driver has some advice for the kids left behind in his care: "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, a keepsake reminder of better times, begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN.

Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed the bus driver's warning. 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 this a terrifying adventure begins.

Small Spaces is fascinating and terrifying. It contains a story within a story. It's a puzzle/mystery to be solved (who is the smiling man? Why is the woman trying to throw a book in a river?). The characters are relatable and charming. And this might be a middle grade horror book, but readers beware, Katherine Arden deserves to be mentioned alongside of Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, etc. Small Spaces is a creepy read that is full of atmosphere. But, it also deals with pretty heavy ideas like death, grief, and family but it's all wrapped up in a deliciously spooky package.

I'll never look at scarecrows the same way again. ( )