Scan barcode
mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition
2.0
Empty Smiles is a terrible end to what was a very good middle grade horror series. It doesn’t even feel like the same series. I was not impressed by Dark Waters, but I still had hope Empty Smiles could at the very least provide a decent finale. Boy, was I wrong.
A few months after the events of the last book, Ollie is a prisoner of the Smiling Man’s traveling carnival. He promises her, her friends will have a chance to save her, however, for reasons that are only hinted at he attempts to discourage her from leaving. He seems to be bound to follow certain rules when initiating games so her repeated refusal means he must eventually give her a chance to earn her freedom. That’s where Brian, Coco, and Phil come in.
The traveling carnival aspect is mostly wasted as only Ollie - who can’t be seen or go anywhere else - explores it in the most rudimentary fashion. Brian and Coco are forced there to save her, but only in the final quarter. Each book before this one established the central location early on for the characters to fool around in. This one splits its’ time between Ollie and the others meaning over half the book is just the kids shuffling between each others' houses.
The central conflict in this book is the same as the last; should the kids tell their parents about the Smiling Man? Their parents are worried sick as the kids' erratic behavior has noticeably increased since Ollie's disappearance. To make matters worse no one outside of the three kids remembers her existing which further serves to put the parents on edge as from their perspective there is no justifiable reason for the kids to be acting so off-kilter.
The dispute is far less appealing this time around as the stakes were so relatively low. Left alone on the island it was suspenseful. Out in the real world I barely cared at all. It did not help that telling the parents did not have any impact on the outcome. They are almost immediately taken out of the story entirely so what good did it do to inform them? They added no insight, offered no new information, and aided in Ollie's rescue in no tangible way. It made the entire question of whether or not to tell that's been embedded in the series for THREE books now feel totally inconsequential.
Speaking of useless, despite having a whole book to flesh him out Phil is no less shallow a character. Arden even tries to get ahead of his inadequacy by having Phil actively apologize for not being as useful as Ollie. It's bad when even the character knows they're merely a substandard stand-in. He doesn't even get to participate in the final showdown. He hurts his leg - a totally obvious manufactured means of sidelining him - and then makes a 'sacrifice' to aid the other two. It's abundantly clear Arden didn't want to use him which begs the question, why even bother dealing him in? It's understandable she wanted to limit the climax to the three who started it all, but there was plenty of space in the last book and this one to make him actually beneficial to the plot.
No questions are answered about the Smiling Man. He is a paranormal higher being of some sort who is governed by an ill-defined, yet iron-clad rule system. Okay: now what? That’s basically confirmed in book one. Nothing is revealed that could not have been pieced together through guesswork. The only thing we learn is that the Smiling Man may have had a daughter or a young girl close to him similar to Ollie. This only serves to vaguely explain his fixation on her, it didn’t shift my perspective on previous events or influence his actions regarding her in this book.
The major plot point simmering in the background about Ollie being uncomfortable her father is dating Coco’s mother has no conclusion. Ollie is still struggling in Dark Waters then it’s not even brought up in this book at all. Her mother still being around in spirit via the watch was a very real obstacle to her allowing another woman to take on a somewhat maternal role in her life. This is hindered further by the fact that Ollie could potentially have a real conversation with her as suggested by the Smiling Man in Dead Voices or even potentially bring her back somehow. Arden completely abandons an arc that has been running through the series for three and a half books. The book ends super abruptly after the kids successfully free her without Ollie expressing any change in opinion or learning any kind of lesson along the way.
Empty Smiles came out only a year after Dark Waters and it shows (derogatory). It feels rushed, underdeveloped, and dull. It felt like the series was originally meant to be a trilogy, but was split into two for monetary/publishing purposes to its immense detriment.
Off the top of my head - in hindsight, of course - here are some adjustments I would have made:
* Dark Waters is a quick trip at the beginning of the book to kickstart the final fight, trim it to a quarter at the most. None of the events are significant enough to warrant a whole book. Keep Ollie making the deal, disappearing, and no one outside of the duo remembering her existence. Erase Phil.
* Sike, tap Coco's mom in. Establish at the beginning that she has been trying really hard to connect with Ollie who is exceedingly averse. It's creating more tension in the group because Coco wants to tell her and Ollie still doesn't but now it's getting more personal. Coco's mom remembers because she has the watch somehow and Ollie's mom protected her. This fulfills Coco's desire to have an adult in the know and her assisting the group means that she's getting set up to finish out Ollie's arc.
* The new trio use clues left by the Smiling Man to try and map out where the carnival is going to be. Coco's mom can drive them. Now the book is a journey book meaning new locations and spooky hijinks along the way. Ollie attempts to gain the Smiling Man’s trust in the meantime. She grudgingly begins to bond with him.
* Ollie has contact with her mother in the carnival possibly because of it being a place that holds souls. Maybe she finds a special mirror or something. Her mother can field messages back and forth via the watch. It's not perfect because her mother is bound by certain rules but this leaves it open for Ollie to grow on her own to realize she has to let her go. Still this adds tension because the Smiling Man now has a real in with Ollie to try to keep her in the carnival because if she leaves she won't have this level of contact with her mother so as a reader you'll be worried about her choosing to stay.
* Rather than the keys needed to escape being present only at night, shift it so two are only available during the day. This still maintains a deadline, but it means that Ollie is unable to actively assist until the final showdown. This gives Coco and Brian each one last major hurrah.
* Coco's mom ends up trapped alone in the carnival at night with the keys somehow. She and Ollie need to find the final key. Ollie has an inkling based on her time with the Smiling Man. Leaving involves a great sacrifice. Coco's mom chooses to sacrifice herself for Ollie, proving to Ollie that she genuinely does care for her.
* Ollie sacrifices her mother's watch to save Coco's mom thereby fulfilling her arc of moving on from her mother's death finally allowing herself to accept Coco's mom not as a replacement but as another adult who loves her all the same.
Ollie mom stuff would have been very present in my version, but to me that was literally the catalyst for the entire series so it makes sense that it would take center stage in the finale. Coco and Brian have no emotional arcs in this book either way so it being Ollie centric presents no great change or loss. We lose out on Brian getting his own adventure, but I didn't think his time to shine was all that special so it wouldn't hurt to remove it altogether. Or heck, maybe he could have great map knowledge that helps them find out where to go? This is mostly just me spitballing.
Long story short, I was disappointed though not surprised the series took such a nose dive. Many series have problems the more books in the author gets and sticking the landing is always hard.
If you're skimming reviews ahead of time before diving in I'd say read Small Spaces and pretend it's a standalone. As much as I loved Dead Voices, you should save yourself the trouble. If you're reading this review because you've already come this far reading wise, you have my commiserations.
A few months after the events of the last book, Ollie is a prisoner of the Smiling Man’s traveling carnival. He promises her, her friends will have a chance to save her, however, for reasons that are only hinted at he attempts to discourage her from leaving. He seems to be bound to follow certain rules when initiating games so her repeated refusal means he must eventually give her a chance to earn her freedom. That’s where Brian, Coco, and Phil come in.
The traveling carnival aspect is mostly wasted as only Ollie - who can’t be seen or go anywhere else - explores it in the most rudimentary fashion. Brian and Coco are forced there to save her, but only in the final quarter. Each book before this one established the central location early on for the characters to fool around in. This one splits its’ time between Ollie and the others meaning over half the book is just the kids shuffling between each others' houses.
The central conflict in this book is the same as the last; should the kids tell their parents about the Smiling Man? Their parents are worried sick as the kids' erratic behavior has noticeably increased since Ollie's disappearance. To make matters worse no one outside of the three kids remembers her existing which further serves to put the parents on edge as from their perspective there is no justifiable reason for the kids to be acting so off-kilter.
The dispute is far less appealing this time around as the stakes were so relatively low. Left alone on the island it was suspenseful. Out in the real world I barely cared at all. It did not help that telling the parents did not have any impact on the outcome. They are almost immediately taken out of the story entirely so what good did it do to inform them? They added no insight, offered no new information, and aided in Ollie's rescue in no tangible way. It made the entire question of whether or not to tell that's been embedded in the series for THREE books now feel totally inconsequential.
Speaking of useless, despite having a whole book to flesh him out Phil is no less shallow a character. Arden even tries to get ahead of his inadequacy by having Phil actively apologize for not being as useful as Ollie. It's bad when even the character knows they're merely a substandard stand-in. He doesn't even get to participate in the final showdown. He hurts his leg - a totally obvious manufactured means of sidelining him - and then makes a 'sacrifice' to aid the other two. It's abundantly clear Arden didn't want to use him which begs the question, why even bother dealing him in? It's understandable she wanted to limit the climax to the three who started it all, but there was plenty of space in the last book and this one to make him actually beneficial to the plot.
No questions are answered about the Smiling Man. He is a paranormal higher being of some sort who is governed by an ill-defined, yet iron-clad rule system. Okay: now what? That’s basically confirmed in book one. Nothing is revealed that could not have been pieced together through guesswork. The only thing we learn is that the Smiling Man may have had a daughter or a young girl close to him similar to Ollie. This only serves to vaguely explain his fixation on her, it didn’t shift my perspective on previous events or influence his actions regarding her in this book.
The major plot point simmering in the background about Ollie being uncomfortable her father is dating Coco’s mother has no conclusion. Ollie is still struggling in Dark Waters then it’s not even brought up in this book at all. Her mother still being around in spirit via the watch was a very real obstacle to her allowing another woman to take on a somewhat maternal role in her life. This is hindered further by the fact that Ollie could potentially have a real conversation with her as suggested by the Smiling Man in Dead Voices or even potentially bring her back somehow. Arden completely abandons an arc that has been running through the series for three and a half books. The book ends super abruptly after the kids successfully free her without Ollie expressing any change in opinion or learning any kind of lesson along the way.
Empty Smiles came out only a year after Dark Waters and it shows (derogatory). It feels rushed, underdeveloped, and dull. It felt like the series was originally meant to be a trilogy, but was split into two for monetary/publishing purposes to its immense detriment.
Off the top of my head - in hindsight, of course - here are some adjustments I would have made:
* Dark Waters is a quick trip at the beginning of the book to kickstart the final fight, trim it to a quarter at the most. None of the events are significant enough to warrant a whole book. Keep Ollie making the deal, disappearing, and no one outside of the duo remembering her existence. Erase Phil.
* Sike, tap Coco's mom in. Establish at the beginning that she has been trying really hard to connect with Ollie who is exceedingly averse. It's creating more tension in the group because Coco wants to tell her and Ollie still doesn't but now it's getting more personal. Coco's mom remembers because she has the watch somehow and Ollie's mom protected her. This fulfills Coco's desire to have an adult in the know and her assisting the group means that she's getting set up to finish out Ollie's arc.
* The new trio use clues left by the Smiling Man to try and map out where the carnival is going to be. Coco's mom can drive them. Now the book is a journey book meaning new locations and spooky hijinks along the way. Ollie attempts to gain the Smiling Man’s trust in the meantime. She grudgingly begins to bond with him.
* Ollie has contact with her mother in the carnival possibly because of it being a place that holds souls. Maybe she finds a special mirror or something. Her mother can field messages back and forth via the watch. It's not perfect because her mother is bound by certain rules but this leaves it open for Ollie to grow on her own to realize she has to let her go. Still this adds tension because the Smiling Man now has a real in with Ollie to try to keep her in the carnival because if she leaves she won't have this level of contact with her mother so as a reader you'll be worried about her choosing to stay.
* Rather than the keys needed to escape being present only at night, shift it so two are only available during the day. This still maintains a deadline, but it means that Ollie is unable to actively assist until the final showdown. This gives Coco and Brian each one last major hurrah.
* Coco's mom ends up trapped alone in the carnival at night with the keys somehow. She and Ollie need to find the final key. Ollie has an inkling based on her time with the Smiling Man. Leaving involves a great sacrifice. Coco's mom chooses to sacrifice herself for Ollie, proving to Ollie that she genuinely does care for her.
* Ollie sacrifices her mother's watch to save Coco's mom thereby fulfilling her arc of moving on from her mother's death finally allowing herself to accept Coco's mom not as a replacement but as another adult who loves her all the same.
Ollie mom stuff would have been very present in my version, but to me that was literally the catalyst for the entire series so it makes sense that it would take center stage in the finale. Coco and Brian have no emotional arcs in this book either way so it being Ollie centric presents no great change or loss. We lose out on Brian getting his own adventure, but I didn't think his time to shine was all that special so it wouldn't hurt to remove it altogether. Or heck, maybe he could have great map knowledge that helps them find out where to go? This is mostly just me spitballing.
Long story short, I was disappointed though not surprised the series took such a nose dive. Many series have problems the more books in the author gets and sticking the landing is always hard.
If you're skimming reviews ahead of time before diving in I'd say read Small Spaces and pretend it's a standalone. As much as I loved Dead Voices, you should save yourself the trouble. If you're reading this review because you've already come this far reading wise, you have my commiserations.
anatrnd's review against another edition
2.0
at first, i thought it's going to be my favorite book in the series, because i really liked the atmosphere of the carnival, and those clowns were really terrifying, but, unfortunately, it turned out to be the weakest one. the book is too short, and the ending is really one of the most disappointing i've ever read. everything resolved in three pages. and we didn't even get the proper ending! we didn't get answers to any questions, for example, the origin of the Smiling Man, why was he like that, neither. i don’t understand where Arden’s talent and imagination disappeared when she decided to end the story like this. literally hate those last few pages, ugh
max_the_lesbrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Actual rating a 4.5
I loved this book. I loved this series. Didn't absolutely love the ending of this book? It felt a bit rushed, which is why I took the half star off. It just doesn't really feel like the ending of the series? Like I still have that clamoring feeling of anticipation for the next book, and yet, I believe that this is the last one in the series.
Also Essentially what I'm saying is that I NEED MORE! I love this series so much!
I loved this book. I loved this series. Didn't absolutely love the ending of this book? It felt a bit rushed, which is why I took the half star off. It just doesn't really feel like the ending of the series? Like I still have that clamoring feeling of anticipation for the next book, and yet, I believe that this is the last one in the series.
Also
Spoiler
I'm obsessed with the entire concept of the smiling man being lonely, like 1. very delicious characterization but also 2. the comedy potential of the smiling man becoming essentially Olivia's weird cousin that just shows up sometimes. Like not anything quite so overtly evil or dangerous. But just him trying to come up with flimsier and flimsier excuses to come and say hi.belanna2's review against another edition
3.75
The story was great, but it was rushed; the ending happened at warped speed leaving me wanting an ending that finished the story and was more in depth: "what" was the smiling man and where did he come from. It was too open-ended and vague. Everything that happened after they found the second key was just rushed. The Smiling man did everything he could to stop the gang from their goal and he just acquiesced at the end without a fight? When Ollie wondered if he couldn't get to the second key himself, because he was alone, I wondered if the third key that emerged from the first two, was a key to open a permanent door to the human realm like in the olden days. He seemed pretty interested in the door being opened...the reader will never know, though, because it just ended with a whimper that didn't wrap up the series. Is the smiling man truly done with Ollie and her friends?
jennywrennn's review against another edition
3.0
I am baffled by the ending of this????
Up until the last 5? Pages - I was ready to call this the 2nd best instalment in the series (Small Spaces being first obviously)
It built up to such an intense climax, it introduced so many new ideas and dropped so many little clues, and then out of literally nowhere, it just resolved everything within 2 pages, with no explanation, and wrapped the whole thing up.
It was lacking emotion, it was rushed and honestly, the last few pages were kind of poorly written (waaaay more cheesy and juvenile than the rest of the series)
I actually even double checked, because I thought it was a 4 book series, to see if I was wrong - surely they wouldn’t drop all those open ideas and leave them hanging unresolved? But nope, that was indeed the finale. It honestly read like the author herself had gotten as far as the final pages before getting kidnapped by clowns herself and having to wrap up the ending with minutes to spare.
Super disappointed as I LOVE this series and again, up until the ending, this was easily one of the better instalments- it also felt like she knew her younger readers had grown a few years since the first book came out, and she was leaning into more mature writing and scarier horror sequences throughout the book, so it was even more of a bummer to have the final pages revert back to the most basic, cheesy, stereotypical middle grade vibes.
Really let down by this one :( but still giving it 3 stars because up until those final pages I did love it.
Up until the last 5? Pages - I was ready to call this the 2nd best instalment in the series (Small Spaces being first obviously)
It built up to such an intense climax, it introduced so many new ideas and dropped so many little clues, and then out of literally nowhere, it just resolved everything within 2 pages, with no explanation, and wrapped the whole thing up.
It was lacking emotion, it was rushed and honestly, the last few pages were kind of poorly written (waaaay more cheesy and juvenile than the rest of the series)
I actually even double checked, because I thought it was a 4 book series, to see if I was wrong - surely they wouldn’t drop all those open ideas and leave them hanging unresolved? But nope, that was indeed the finale. It honestly read like the author herself had gotten as far as the final pages before getting kidnapped by clowns herself and having to wrap up the ending with minutes to spare.
Super disappointed as I LOVE this series and again, up until the ending, this was easily one of the better instalments- it also felt like she knew her younger readers had grown a few years since the first book came out, and she was leaning into more mature writing and scarier horror sequences throughout the book, so it was even more of a bummer to have the final pages revert back to the most basic, cheesy, stereotypical middle grade vibes.
Really let down by this one :( but still giving it 3 stars because up until those final pages I did love it.
readbylinds's review against another edition
4.0
Solidly creepy. Loved getting to see more of the smiling man. Wayyyy rushed the ending though (as always -_-)
littletreefox's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
kasmi22's review against another edition
5.0
I know this was written for kids but it was fricken scary