"Dark Waters (Small Spaces, #3)" by Katherine Arden
Reminiscent of Goosebumps, a child’s story even fun for adults.
Read Review Below
This series by Katherine Arden has become my new Goosebumps. The difference is that we are following the story of the main three characters, Ollie, Brian, and Coco throughout the series. Dark Waters is the 3rd book of the series, and quite honestly my least favorite. It definitely is not as eerie, dark, and scary as “Small Spaces” or “Dead Voices”. However, what keeps it going is the how Arden gives each character their time to shine, she introduces new characters and side plotlines for momentum, and she introduces the Smiling Man. If you’ve read Arden’s trilogy, “The Winternight Trilogy”, you’ll know that she is exceptional at creating villains. The Smiling Man loves games, keeps his word, but is extremely mischievous.
The Smiling Man reminds me of a story my Mother once told me:
My brother was about 8 years old and on this one night, he was scared and decided to sleep in the same bed as her. They were fast asleep until suddenly, he sat straight up in bed. My Mother sleepily asked, “Richie, what is wrong? Go back to bed.” As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she noticed his eyes were still closed. He turned his head towards her. With his eyes still closed and smiling, he said, “But the man in the closet is smiling at me.” My Mother glanced at the closet, and noticed that one of the bifold doors was partially opened.
I asked her what she did at this point. And she replied, “I hid under the covers!”.
It’s as though Arden brought back this terror from my childhood (because, as can be expected, after our Mother told us this story, we were terrified of the Smiling Man in the closet.) Her stories also bring back the nostalgia of when I first really got into reading. It was R.L. Stine and his Goosebumps series that flicked that switch with all the horror and disgust seeping through those pages. I loved (and still love) being terrified.
I recommend reading this to your littles ones before bed!
| Pub Date: | August 10, 2021 | Page Count: | 198 Pages | ISBN: | 9780593109151 |