Audiobook Review – Small Spaces (Small Spaces Quintent, Book 1) by Katherine Arden, Narrated by Renee Dorian (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Horror/Fantasy
Length: 5 hours and 16 minutes
Publisher: Listening Library
Release Date: September 25, 2018
ASIN: B07GDT878H
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Small Spaces Quintet
Source: Borrowed Audiobook from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars
“ 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.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Small Spaces Quintet. I borrowed this as an audiobook from the library.
Thoughts: I ended up really enjoying this; I listened to it on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. This is an incredibly creepy read about a group of middle school students who get trapped somewhere…other. Ollie’s back story is really well done and I loved her as a character. She has an excellent family and I loved watching her build friendships with a couple of her classmates while dealing with a terrifying situation.
This story is definitely more creepy than gorey; really no gore here. I really enjoy my horror stories with more creepiness and less gore, so this was right up my alley. There are a lot of fantasy elements to this story as well and I enjoyed the pacing and the super creepy “smiling man”. If you hate scarecrows, well you will probably hate them even more after this book.
This is a quick read but I thought it was very creative and engaging. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this and how quickly I was sucked into the story. The beginning of the book goes back into some historical eeriness and I was really impressed with how the whole story came together. I am eager to see what the next three books in this series bring!
My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a very creepy and creative horror story that I enjoyed. It leans more towards creepy, eerie, and mysterious than gorey and I really enjoy those types of horror stories. I definitely plan on picking up the next book in this series. This is appropriate for middle grade and older readers, it will most likely be too scary for younger readers.
