Review: A re-read of Katherine Arden's middle-grade debut, in preparation for reading the entire quartet now that book four is out - and what a joy to find I liked book one even more the second time around. Ollie Adler is a quiet, sad eleven-year-old girl with a chip on her shoulder, still grieving the death of her mother the year prior in a tragic accident. Highly intelligent and good-natured at heart, she's grown introverted and sullen, nose often buried in a book - which makes it irk her like crazy when, one day, she comes across a semi-hysterical woman about to throw a book in a river. The woman, making no sense to the young girl, claims she must destroy the book, but book-lover Ollie ends up swiping it instead, escaping on her bicycle. The small, very old book, Small Spaces, tells the very creepy story of The Smiling Man, who seems to exchange souls for favors - and when a field trip the next day finds Ollie's class in serious trouble, sinister happenings too similar to her book to be coincidence, Ollie must band together with two of her classmates (the flighty Coco, and hockey champ Brian) to find out what's going on. Especially when Ollie's broken watch - which belonged to her mother, and hasn't worked since she died - starts sending messages to the girl, warning her of danger.
Creepy, fun, and solidly plotted, this is such a terrific spooky read for anyone of any age, featuring a fast-paced writing and three classmates who grow into great friends, whom I can't wait to finally follow in the remaining books. 4.5/5 stars
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