Granted, she showed this expertise when exploring Ollie’s negative mental state in Small Spaces, and it’s good to see that kind of emotional complexity here. Yes, the evil might be defeated (for a bit) and the danger might be over, but it has lingering effects. The way Arden navigates PTSD from hauntings is so empathetic. My favorite character in this entry is Phil. Once again, they have outwit not just the Smiling Man but also possibly Champ, the monster inhabiting Lake Champaign. The kids are on a boat trip that goes horribly wrong when a snake-like entity capsizes the boat and traps the kids on an island. It’s got urban legends, naval history, and camping in the woods. But Arden handles the experience with such compassion, and it adds a layer of feelings as the kids try to save themselves from supernatural terrors.Ĭontent warning: Snakes, dead parent (mentioned), starvation, poisoning, infected woundĪs far as my hyperfixations go, this book has to be my favorite. Ollie is quite frank about her depression and grief and the ways it makes her middle school experience quite fraught.

I also really enjoyed the vulnerability presented here. You’ll never look at a middle school trip to a farm the same way ever again. There’s the mysterious journal, the story of the scarecrows, which then bleeds into Ollie’s contemporary life which all work together for maximum scares.

The folklore and history established in this little corner of Vermont adds such depth to the story arc itself. Arden meticulously lays out the breadcrumbs to put together that things aren’t exactly right. This book is steeped in autumnal and spooky atmosphere. But then a school trip goes wrong as they slip between dimensions and it’s up to the three disobedient middle schoolers to save the day.

Adjusting back to school is hard enough already, but Ollie has lost her penchant for restraint by rescuing Coco Zintner from some bullies, even befriending Brian Battersby on their way out of the principal’s office. Ollie Adler is returning to school after tragically losing her mother. Content warning: Dead parent (mentioned), bullying, kidnapping

Katherine arden small spaces