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p_ivy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
They’d been careful not to be alone.
They felt safer when they weren’t alone.
The girls both looked as happy as Brian felt. To be doing something other than huddling at home, researching and worrying.
“We’re in trouble,” said Brian, and Coco nodded, biting her lip.
I can do this, Brian told himself. Last time, in the haunted lodge, I couldn’t do anything. But I know about survival stuff. I can do this. I can keep everyone safe.
What was waiting for them, on this still, silent island?
But Brian had seen enough of strange spaces, of small, haunted worlds, to know by now that there were no miracles, no easy escapes. That they’d have to smash their own way out.
“One chance,” said Coco.
“One chance is all we’ll need,” said Brian
Oh, this was really good! I really like Brian's POV and that we found out how he's dealing with everything and how dissociated he is from his regular life. I love how he tried really hard to be helpful because he felt like he wasn't useful the last time they faced off with the smiling man. They went through a lot in this book and the book ending witheveryone (except Brian and Coco) forgetting about Ollie is 🤯! I can't wait to read the last one!
🍂🎃
They felt safer when they weren’t alone.
The girls both looked as happy as Brian felt. To be doing something other than huddling at home, researching and worrying.
“We’re in trouble,” said Brian, and Coco nodded, biting her lip.
I can do this, Brian told himself. Last time, in the haunted lodge, I couldn’t do anything. But I know about survival stuff. I can do this. I can keep everyone safe.
What was waiting for them, on this still, silent island?
But Brian had seen enough of strange spaces, of small, haunted worlds, to know by now that there were no miracles, no easy escapes. That they’d have to smash their own way out.
“One chance,” said Coco.
“One chance is all we’ll need,” said Brian
Oh, this was really good! I really like Brian's POV and that we found out how he's dealing with everything and how dissociated he is from his regular life. I love how he tried really hard to be helpful because he felt like he wasn't useful the last time they faced off with the smiling man. They went through a lot in this book and the book ending with
🍂🎃
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
alyvia_jeane's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Omfg! The end?! Arden didn’t have to do that but she did omg!!!!
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Death of parent
maeverose's review against another edition
2.0
These are getting more disappointing with every book for me.
Both this one and the last one do this thing where 80% through, the solution to their problem isn’t at all clear to the reader or the characters. There’s no clear game in this one. We never see the smiling man. They’re just meandering around trying to survive, occasionally running into trouble. With this one especially, there was barely any plot. Scenes had to be drawn out longer than necessary to fill the book out. It made the book very boring.
Brian was the main pov character for this one, which was an improvement from the last book, but I still felt like he barely had any personality. Coco still ended up finding a lot of the solutions to things. (Speaking of Coco, I’m really starting to get annoyed with how often they have to mention how tiny and unassuming she is. We get it. She’s not like other girls.)
I’m unsure now if I wanna bother reading the last book. With the way this one ended, it feels a bit shitty to stop here, and I’d hope the conclusion would have more plot, but being as every single one so far has annoyed me in some way… idk if it’s worth it.
Very small nit pick: What was up with the part when they asked ‘wonder who the skeleton was? Must’ve been Sheehan.’ When the axe man (Sheehan) clearly called the skeleton Tommy multiple times… And Tommy was mentioned in the journals they literally just read? Was it supposed to be a plot twist that axe man was Sheehan? Even 11 year olds could easily see that coming…
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Ableism, Child abuse, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gore, Excrement, Death of parent, Animal death, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, and Body shaming
Poisoning, boat accidentjupternorth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
emily_mh's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
This book broke the mould of the series, but but not in a good way. There was no Smiling Man and barely any involvement of the watch, so it just ended up being a generic fantasy survival plot. Also, the story developed too quickly and felt directionless, while on the other hand there was no genuine development of character. Finally, while I liked that it was entirely from Brian's POV, I thought Arden should have co-authored with a Black author to make sure the rep was done right (I obviously can't speak to the quality of rep in this book as I'm white; I just think this should be automatic practice).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Death
Minor: Bullying, Animal death, Child death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, and Death of parent
Moderate warning for loss of a loved one (uncle) and injured parent.lessonplansandlace's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Grief
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Death of parent
mandkips's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death
Minor: Death of parent and Bullying
readandfindout's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars
Themes: 4 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Death
Minor: Death of parent and Bullying
divine529's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
As with all of the previous books in the series, I really enjoyed this one too.
I can't go into too much detail about what it's about because of the prior books, but it's the third installment in the Small Spaces series and this one takes place in spring and involves a boat adventure and a creepy island.
The writing in this book was comparable with the previous two and well-paced and well-written. The ending was frustrating though, but not unexpected.
The setting was just as atmospheric as all of Katherine Arden's novels. it's always one of my favorite parts of her works. This one took place on Lake Champlain and on a creepy island and it was excellent.
The plot is something I can't talk much about, but the above summary should probably give you some insight. Like the other books it deals with Ollie, Brian and Coco getting involved with the Smiling Man's antics and it was no different in this book.
Finally, the characters. This was Brian's book and I loved getting to see his perspective. I adored his interactions with Coco and how perceptive he was throughout everything. I always love the other characters too like Ollie and Coco and Mr. Adler etc. They were all great in this book too. And I loved the addition of Phil. What a fun addition! I really loved seeing how far all of the characters have come from the first book.
Fantastic addition to the series and I'm already dying for the last book!
I can't go into too much detail about what it's about because of the prior books, but it's the third installment in the Small Spaces series and this one takes place in spring and involves a boat adventure and a creepy island.
The writing in this book was comparable with the previous two and well-paced and well-written. The ending was frustrating though, but not unexpected.
The setting was just as atmospheric as all of Katherine Arden's novels. it's always one of my favorite parts of her works. This one took place on Lake Champlain and on a creepy island and it was excellent.
The plot is something I can't talk much about, but the above summary should probably give you some insight. Like the other books it deals with Ollie, Brian and Coco getting involved with the Smiling Man's antics and it was no different in this book.
Finally, the characters. This was Brian's book and I loved getting to see his perspective. I adored his interactions with Coco and how perceptive he was throughout everything. I always love the other characters too like Ollie and Coco and Mr. Adler etc. They were all great in this book too. And I loved the addition of Phil. What a fun addition! I really loved seeing how far all of the characters have come from the first book.
Fantastic addition to the series and I'm already dying for the last book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death
amandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This felt so short, even though it’s not. I loved the psychological and interpersonal complications between Brian and his parents and Phil. It felt like there were finally real world consequences for the trio keeping secrets about the Smiling Man. I’m glad Brian got to shine in this book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Bullying
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