Small Spaces by Katherine Arden is a super creepy tale filled with terrifyingly thick mist, scarecrows that come alive, and a haunting family history.
While labeled middle grade, this one REALLY gave me the creeps!!
I had been meaning to pick this one since I heard the author mention she was working on it when my book club saw her speak. But of course, things got a little crazy and I just never got around to it. When Netgalley did a 24 hour free giveaway, I snagged a copy immediately!
Let’s dive into my review!
My Thoughts on Small Spaces by Katherine Arden
I wasn’t expecting this to be nearly as creepy as it turned out to be! It was so atmospheric and the writing was so spot on that I could really imagine everything playing out in my head.
The story is about a girl, Ollie, who steals a book from a woman who was about to throw it in a river. Ollie brings the book back home with her and is immediately immersed in it.
In school the next day, one of her classmates gets the teacher talking about the ghost story of the farm that they are about to visit to learn about agriculture. The ghost story is eerily similar to the story in Ollie’s book, but she tried to wave it off as coincidence.
When her class gets to the farm, Ollie quickly realizes that it may not be just a coincidence. Weird things begin happening and when their school bus breaks down in the middle of really thick mist, Ollie doesn’t stick around to see what happens. Two other kids from the bus, Coco and Brian, also follow her into the mist.
I loved the three main characters! I cannot wait to learn more about them if they’re featured in the next book! Ollie was going through a rough time, but I loved how brave she was and how she didn’t put up with bullies. Coco was adorably pathetic, but definitely grew over the course of the book. I’d really like to see her hold her own more in the next tale. Brian was also a great character who grew a lot. I look forward to seeing more of his personal growth as well.
The storyline was perfectly paced and the plot was so interesting! There’s just something about thick creepy fog that spooks me. So add scarecrows that can move in the day if you’re not looking at them but get violent at night on top of that, and it’s a horror read for sure!
There was one scene that had me holding my breath! I was truly terrified by what was happening and could not stop reading.
I got some major Slenderman vibes while reading this!
My Favorite Passage from Small Spaces
You can’t, she decided, be super scared for very long before you start just laughing or crying.
My Final Thoughts on Small Spaces
This is definitely one I would recommend to fans of creepy stories! Between the amazing writing, the wonderful characters, and the super spook plot, I absolutely loved it! This is a book I need to add to my shelves!
I can’t wait for the next book!
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Thanks for reading!
If you’ve read any middle grade horror, I’d love to hear about it!
This sounds like one I would not want to read at night!
Definitely not! haha
Scarecrows coming to life- ooh that is freaky! There’s something about scarecrows…
And it’s a series? Ooh!
RIGHT?!
Fog and moving scarecrows, yep that would scare me, too! Thanks for posting your review!
<3
We went to the library today and I grabbed this one! What a coincidence! I loved the synopsis, so I’m happy to see the book was such a hit! I cannot wait to read it. I was planning on reading it aloud to my five-year-old son, do you think it would be too scary for him?
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear?
That’s so cool!! Enjoy! I can’t wait to hear what you think! I don’t think it would be too scary, but you can always make it more upbeat when reading out loud!
YAY! So glad I grabbed this one as well. You know I’m always in for creepy. Great review and the fact that you enjoyed it makes me believe it’s one I’ll love as well.
Enjoy!!
Katherine Arden is such a talented writer! I really liked the first two books of her fantasy trilogy (I have the third on on hold from the library). I’m not sure I would pick this one up because of the creepy factor, but I’m glad she succeeded for you.
She sure is!! I need to binge read her fantasy trilogy soon!
Scarecrows that come alive? OMG I can’t imagine dealing with that, but at the same time, I really want to know?
RIGHT?! It was SO spooky!!
I’m so ready for a good creepy book and you’ve made me really curious about this one!
YAY!! I hope you love this one if you pick it up!
Amazing review my friend, now I am so going to check this book out in September or October from the library. I’ve been dying to read this book when it first came out a couple of years ago, I am really glad and happy you really enjoyed this book. Plus I absolutely love creepy books too, thank you so much for sharing your awesome post and review, Erica.
YAY!! Enjoy!!