I usually avoid scary books as I don't really enjoy scaring myself or enabling someone else to scare me. BUT, I do like the scary books that there is something going on beneath the surface, a hint of actual evil, and rather mysterious.
Dun dun dunnnn, an amazon summary, "After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn't think--she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read the slender volume, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both 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.
Ollie is captivated by the tale until her school trip the next day to Smoke Hollow, a local farm with a haunting history all its own. There she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about. Could it be the story about the smiling man is true? Ollie doesn't have too long to think about the answer to that. On the way home, the school bus breaks down, sending their teacher back to the farm for help. But the strange bus driver has some advice for the kids left behind in his care: "Best get moving. At nightfall they'll come for the rest of you." Nightfall is, indeed, fast descending when Ollie's previously broken digital wristwatch, a keepsake reminder of better times, begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN.
Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed the bus driver's warning. 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. Keep to small."
And with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE
Right out of the gate, I have to disagree with how much the amazon summary gives out about the story. Let me try to do better.
Ollie is incredibly smart. She knows her own mind, and isn't afraid to be herself. She withdrew from clubs she participated in after something happened in her life. Her father adores her and tries to support her in her adventures. She's riding her bike home from school one day when she encounters a woman crying next to the river. She's muttering to herself and seems to be about to toss a book into the river. Ollie, who LOVES books, is like OH HELL NAW and kind of asks her some questions to distract her a little bit, and then lunging forward to snatch the book and run away.
She starts to read the book, which is about a young girl who entertains two brothers as suitors. After she makes her choice, the younger brother goes for a walk, and does not return. As Ollie is reading this book, her class takes a field trip to a nearby farm, where things are not as they seem. The bus driver is super creepy, but so are the seeming hundreds of scare crows all around the farm.... why are there so many scare crows, and why should she keep to the "small spaces"?
Dun dun dunnnn
So this book was fantastically creepy in every sense. The story is well paced, everything going on with Ollie has a slow reveal in a good way, and it's not too scary. I also had a good love/hate relationship with the side characters in the story that accompanied Ollie. The dynamics that Ollie have with the adults is also fascinating because she's treated as if she's on their level. I loved it.
I also loved Ollie in general. Everything from how she processed the situations, how she interacted with others, like, I wish I knew Ollie in real life. She's pretty fantastic.
Besides Ollie, there's a great tone about the book. Almost as if the history of what happened before take on their own character.
I also liked the slow reveal of what was really going down on the farm. I do kind of wish the small spaces theme came back into more prevalent play throughout the story, but it was sufficient.
A good chilling story.
Happy reading!
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