★ “With a tantalizing pace and palpable suspense, all nicely grounded in realistic emotions, this well-wrought spine-tingler is destined to be a hit (just make sure the lights stay on).” - Booklist, starred review Chillingly tender.” - Kirkus, starred review Keep to small.'Īnd with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins.Ī Kirkus Best Book of 2018 – Middle-GradeĪ Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018 – Middle-GradeĪ Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best Books of 2018 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.

Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed these warnings. 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. Then, later, when her school bus breaks down on the ride home, the strange bus driver tells Ollie and her classmates: 'Best get moving. Now in paperback.Īfter 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.Ĭaptivated 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. New York Times bestselling adult author of The Bear and the Nightingale makes her middle grade debut with a creepy, spellbinding ghost story destined to become a classic.

Small spaces arden