Empty Smiles

A solid ending to this series that is genuinely creepy at moments. I wish the book were a little longer though - it felt rushed at the end and was just... over. I was not mentally prepared for that because there was still sixty pages left in the book so I thought I had a lot more story left, alas those extra pages were just excerpts from the first 3 books. Empty Smiles is about reuniting the gang and getting Ollie away from the Smiling Man who has her captive. Every day Ollie is trapped on a train that turns into a carnival whenever they arrive at a new location. During the day the carnival seems fine, but at night the clowns hunt. When the carnival reaches Ollie's hometown her friends will have a chance to rescue her... if they dare. Fun, great concept, but too short for me. I want more! Can this series continue when the kids get into high school?

Dark Waters

Super enjoyable! I absolutely love this middle grade series. It's genuinely dark and creepy and I adore the characters. The third installment in the Small Spaces series is set in the spring and they are about to face a whole new nightmare. The kids know that the smiling man is still out there, the only question is - when is he going to strike next? When the adults are gone, the power turns off and someone starts pounding on the door. Whoever it was, left a black dot and a cryptic note. It's up to Ollie, Coco, and Brian to get to the bottom of it before IT gets to the bottom of then. In the meantime they have a happy distraction, Coco's mom is going to take them on a boat tour of Lake Champlain for a news story about Vermont's very own "loch ness monster," Champ. Very quickly this trip turns creepy and they wonder if the black dot and cryptic note have something to do with a real monster or a mysterious island that just popped up. A nice little twist at the end of this one - I can't wait for the next installment! 

Dead Voices

Engrossing and wonderful, I adored this follow up to Small Spaces! The gang is back but this time they are on a new adventure. Ollie's dad has won a free ski trip for five at the newest ski resort in Vermont. Ollie and her best friends Coco and Brian will accompany Ollie's Dad and Coco's mom on the trip of a lifetime. On their way up the mountain the snow keeps coming down, and by the time they reach the top, Coco is convinced she has seen a ghost and they all know that they are completely snowed in. None of the other guests ventured out into the weather except for an odd ghost hunter so they have the entire ski lodge to themselves... except maybe they don't. Closets rattle, ghosts appear, and Mother Hemlock is after them. They soon realize that this trip will turn into a nightmare if they don't stop the ghosts and figure out what they're after. A lot of fun and will probably be genuinely terrifying for young kids. There are definitely some creepy elements in her. I hope there are more in this series!

Small Spaces

Legitimately terrifying and this is a kids book! Small Spaces slowly draws sets the scene, develops the characters, and then drops them into a slow boil of terror. I loved it. I couldn't put it down. When Ollie goes on a field trip to a local farm with her 6th grade class, she begins to find the parallels with the farms history and the creepy book she's reading unsettling. Ollie had stolen the book the day before from a distraught, crying, woman who was hell bent on destroying it. Ollie couldn't abide for a book to be damaged so she ran off with it and the more she read from it and the more she sees at the farm, she realizes that she could be in serious danger. Scarecrows ring the farm and seem to be keeping a special eye on her. As they're leaving the bus breaks down in the mist and Ollie knows she has to act fast before whatever is happening to the farm happens to her. Genuinely amazing. The characters are wonderful, the threat real, the scarecrows scary as hell, and the friendships precious. I can't wait to read the next one! I'll recommend this to everyone. It would make a great movie!!