Name: Jeni Enjaian's review of Small Spaces by Katherine Arden
Item: Small Spaces
Rating: 3
Author: Jeni Enjaian

Katherine Arden

New York Times bestselling adult author of The Bear and the Nightingale makes her middle grade debut with a creepy, spellbinding ghost story destined to become a classic 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 that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins.

Small Spaces

Jeni Enjaian

I binge read this all in one day. To be fair, it was fairly large type and it's a middle grade book, but I thought it was a delightful horror read! I can definitely see why an R. L. Stine quote would feature on the cover.

I will say, the book does dwell on the death of a loved parent fairly heavily, so if that is a concern for you as a reader, please be advised.

I enjoyed the characters and the world. I was not prepared for it to get as spooky as it did, honestly. This is right up there with the spookiest of Goosebumps, so if you enjoyed those, this one would be a good one to check into. I appreciated the friendships growing from nothing in this book into something the main character Ollie is happy she's built and seeing that she's started processing some of trauma by the end of the book regarding her mom, though I do worry her watch will become a crutch of sorts for her healing.

I will definitely be continuing on in the series! Clearly I need to read more Katherine Arden because I also enjoy her adult fiction.

Kirsten Simkiss

I binge read this all in one day. To be fair, it was fairly large type and it's a middle grade book, but I thought it was a delightful horror read! I can definitely see why an R. L. Stine quote would feature on the cover.

I will say, the book does dwell on the death of a loved parent fairly heavily, so if that is a concern for you as a reader, please be advised.

I enjoyed the characters and the world. I was not prepared for it to get as spooky as it did, honestly. This is right up there with the spookiest of Goosebumps, so if you enjoyed those, this one would be a good one to check into. I appreciated the friendships growing from nothing in this book into something the main character Ollie is happy she's built and seeing that she's started processing some of trauma by the end of the book regarding her mom, though I do worry her watch will become a crutch of sorts for her healing.

I will definitely be continuing on in the series! Clearly I need to read more Katherine Arden because I also enjoy her adult fiction.

Bestselling adult author of The Bear and the Nightingale makes her middle grade debut with a creepy, spellbinding ghost story destined to become a classic. Now in paperback. After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie who only finds solace in books discovers a chilling ghost story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who 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. Captivated by the tale, Ollie begins to wonder if the smiling man might be real when she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about on a school trip to a nearby farm. Then, later, when her school bus breaks down on the ride home, the strange bus driver tells Ollie and her classmates: "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 begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN. Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed these warnings. 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 that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins.

Latitude Tamarind

what a good middle grade horror novel. recommend to your under-thirteens who loved CORALINE and FIRESTARTER

Flavia Louise

Florencia Sime

WAIT BUT THIS WAS SO COOL THANK U EMA AHHH

Laura Kehoe

Actual rating is 3.5
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale is one of my favorite books, so as soon as I knew she had another book out, I had to check it out. It wasn’t quite what I expected, but I actually ended up liking it a lot. 

This was a fun mix of horror story and coming of age, with a little magic thrown in for fun. Normally horror stories freak me out too much, but this one didn’t bother me as much as I’d expected. I found the story intriguing enough to overcome any creepy feelings. 

It took me a little bit to get into this story, however. At first it seemed to move really slow. But once the story picked up, I found myself being drawn into the book. 

Overall, I’d recommend giving Small Spaces a try! It was a fun, quick read. I’m always impressed with Arden’s talent for story telling.

Vera Sokolyanskaya

This is such a cute book - simple, spooky and heart-warming. Can't wait to read the next one. 

Extra credit for proper use of shovels! (for improper use of shovels see The Kiss of Deception)

Maria

A book you totally want your kid to read! Great characters, great story, not too long (probably too short? I want more), and a tiny reference on "Master and Margarita" (ah, Katherine Arden and her Russianness)

Elizabeth Garza

A creepy and unsettling middle-grade horror book that I loved. It wasn't gory, but I felt edgy and anxious reading it. But in a good way; in the way that scary books are supposed to scare you - not scar you. If you like/love Coraline by Neil Gaiman, then I think you should definitely pick up this book.

Candyce Kirk

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!

Kendra Jones

This was like a middle grade Buffy episode and I really liked it!
This story follows Ollie after she rescues a book which recounts the tale of Beth on the farm of Smoke Hollow and how the Websters changed her life. Ollie and her classmates go on a normal field trip to a farm. Once there, she notices that there is something strange about not only the bus driver, but the number of similarities between this farm and the stories from Smoke Hollow. On their drive back to school, their bus breaks down, and Ollie and two of her classmates must run for their lives in order to get back to their families.
This was my perfect level of horror, which is very little as I do get spooked quite easily.
Ollie was a great main character and Katherine did a superb job of showing a young character struggling through a trauma. Whilst Ollie was brave, there were moments where fear shot through her and demonstrated that she could be a normal 11 year old. Her relationships with Brian and Coco were sweet as they always encouraged and looked after each other during the ordeal. However, since this was such a short book, the relationship developed quite quickly - think along the lines of Harry and Ron becoming friends with Hermione after the troll attack.
I liked the relationship that Ollie had with her dad, how he looked after her and allowed her to have space when she needed it, but was always there for her.
The writing was fantastic and spooky, definitely pulling me into the story and had me looking around for any spooky characters in my own home. I loved the atmosphere that Katherine built and how she brought every scene to life.

Diptyalina Barman

Disappointed to rate 3.5 / 5 stars to a Katherine Arden book.

Hannah Alexander 

this book was scary I am not even exaggerating this was a scary book and it is a Middle Grade! if you want a good SCARY book pretty read this.

laura

*I got this book for review from the publisher*

I really loved this middle grade adventure story. I liked how this standalone was so well crafted and such a fast pace read. It had the right balance between adventure, scares and friendship. I normally love books with a trio of characters and this book was no different. This book was def scary at points but very good for middle grade kids. I think this would make a great fall or October read. It also harder issues like grief, death and bullying in a very easy to understand way.

Nickie Mohler

I loved The Bear and the Nightingale, so I thought I would give this one a try. I really liked it. This is a creepy, fun middle grade story. I loved the atmosphere, and Ollie is a great character. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Yoomi

I loved Katherine Arden’s Bear and the Nightingale series so I needed to read something else by her. This was such a fun spooky read! And I just found out a sequel is coming out in August!

Neva Davies

I honestly enjoyed reading Small Spaces by Katherine Arden. It was fun and tense, and intriguing. I wanted to know more about the characters, and so kept reading. This is a book I definitely recommend if you are looking for a fairly quick read, with characters that you can't help but love and want to know more about!

5/5 stars

Emily S

Halloween, creepy scarecrows, Narnia references, adorable friend group, and CORN MAZES. What more could I ask for? It was like if Magic School Bus had a full-length Halloween special. So perfect!

Jordan Robinson

OMG. So fun, cute and creepy! 💝❤🎃

Lily D

I think I died reading this book and I am even more scared of scarecrows now. 
Fourth book for Believathon for The Brolly Rail!
This books is both terrifying and amazing!!!!! I actually got to meet Katherine Arden over a zoom call and she told us how she came up with this book idea and I loved how she executed the idea!!! This book was truly amazing and terrifying in the best way!!! I can't wait to read Dead Voices!!! Katherine Arden is definitely an author I want to read more of!!! READ THIS BOOK IF YOU HAVEN'T!!!

Renee Delcourt

I really enjoyed the plot and characters of the story, yet there were places that things felt underdeveloped. I wish there had been more explanation as to what the smiling man was and where the students all ended up was. I really loved how creepy it would feel at times. It was a pretty decent middle grade fantasy.

I thought the premise intriguing. Arden managed the switches in the narrative between the modern and the historical, between Ollie's daily school experience and the creepy yet intriguing "Small Spaces" novel. Even though I found this portion enjoyable, I had a feeling that the narrative might collapse under the weight of trying to do too much. Once "the mist rose," the narrative, for me, collapsed and I ended up muddling through to get to the end. 
This wasn't a terrible novel. It wasn't great either.

Rebeca 

5 stars !!!! 

So so cute!!! The perfect Halloween/ fall read. This was about courage and love and friendship and FALL. Can't wait to read Dead Voices. Would recommend this read.

Elodia

*3.5

Twelve year old me would have loved this! Even now I thought this was super creepy and had a lot of fun reading it!

"Bestselling adult author of The Bear and the Nightingale makes her middle grade debut with a creepy, spellbinding ghost story destined to become a classic 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 that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins."

Megan Leprich

Why does it seem like middle-grade thriller books are spookier than some young adult or adult thriller novels? Or is it just me?

This was my first Katherine Arden book and I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book. I was definitely not prepared for how scared and spooked I was going to be. It didn't help that I read most of this book on a road trip with lots of cornfields and scarecrows around.

The author did an amazing job of describing the characters and building up the perfect amount of suspense. The setting of this book was creepy enough but then all of the little things that happened just made it so much spookier. The wording was so descriptive that you actually felt like you were with all of the kids on this trip and you were seeing and feeling everything that they were.

Definitely one of my new favorite books even if it did scare me!

Jeni Enjaian &
Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

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Jeni Enjaian &Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

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Jeni Enjaian &
Small Spaces by Katherine Arden