Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

 

This past week, I read Small Spaces by Katherine Arden. This novel was a scary story about a sixth grader, Ollie, who is coping with a tragic loss when she steals a book from a seemingly crazy woman at the river. Ollie decides to read the book and learns the eerie story of a girl named Beth, the two brothers who loved her, and a deal made with "the smiling man". The next day, her class goes to a local farm as a field trip and Ollie begins to wonder if the farm is the same one from the book as she learns the history of the farm. On the way home, the bus breaks down. After the bus driver's warning that something is coming at nightfall and Ollie's watch beginning a countdown telling her to RUN, Ollie and two of her classmates decide to leave the bus despite their teacher telling them to stay when he went back to the farm for help. Over their adventure, Ollie and her friends must follow the advice: "Avoid large spaces. Keep to small."

I have loved scary stories since I was a little girl, so I especially loved this book. It totally had me on the edge of my seat, wondering if Ollie and her newfound friends, Brian and Coco, would survive the nights. It especially reminded me of two collections of creepy tales I adored as a kid, Nickelodeon's Are You Afraid of the Dark? and R.L. Stine's Goosebumps. I was definitely nervous that the scarecrows would catch Ollie, Brian, or Coco, as they chased the three sixth graders each night. The book also has a major plot twist towards the end that caught me completely off guard even thought I guessed some of the other reveals over the course of the story. Another thing I loved about the novel was its description of Vermont in the fall. Some of my favorite expressions were "The river ran silver to her right, chattering over rocks. The fire-colored trees shook their leaves down around her" and "a rain like cold tears". So beautiful. It really made me feel like I was there. This book is perfect for fall and Halloween, and if you like scary stories, you'll enjoy it.