Dead Voices (Small Spaces #2)

by Katherine Arden (Author)

Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade
Series: Small Spaces

New York Times bestselling author Katherine Arden returns with another creepy, spine-tingling adventure in this follow-up to the critically acclaimed Small Spaces.

Having survived sinister scarecrows and the malevolent smiling man in Small Spaces, newly minted best friends Ollie, Coco, and Brian are ready to spend a relaxing winter break skiing together with their parents at Mount Hemlock Resort. But when a snowstorm sets in, causing the power to flicker out and the cold to creep closer and closer, the three are forced to settle for hot chocolate and board games by the fire.

Ollie, Coco, and Brian are determined to make the best of being snowed in, but odd things keep happening. Coco is convinced she has seen a ghost, and Ollie is having nightmares about frostbitten girls pleading for help. Then Mr. Voland, a mysterious ghost hunter, arrives in the midst of the storm to investigate the hauntings at Hemlock Lodge. Ollie, Coco, and Brian want to trust him, but Ollie's watch, which once saved them from the smiling man, has a new cautionary message: Beware. With Mr. Voland's help, Ollie, Coco, and Brian reach out to the dead voices at Mount Hemlock. Maybe the ghosts need their help--or maybe not all ghosts can or should be trusted. Dead Voices is a terrifying follow-up to Small Spaces with thrills and chills galore and the captive foreboding of a classic ghost story.

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Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

In a spooky sequel to Small Spaces, Arden alternates between the perspectives of friends Ollie, Coco, and Brian as they travel with Ollie's father and Coco's mother to a Vermont mountain cabin, where Ollie's dad has won a stay. The three friends have been inseparable since autumn, when they encountered an alternate world populated by living scarecrows and governed by a terrifying figure called the Smiling Man, and they are eager to put the experience behind them. Soon, though, snowed in at the foreboding Mount Hemlock Resort, which once served as an orphanage, the friends find themselves trapped within a paranormal labyrinth haunted by the ghosts of Gretel, a child who died after becoming locked in a closet, and of the frightening woman who locked her there. With the assistance of a reporter investigating the resort's hauntings, Ollie, Coco, and Brian set out to communicate with the restless spirits. Arden excels at creating an atmosphere of claustrophobic tension with memorably menacing details. Readers will again be invested in the ghoulish surprises in store for the resourceful, likably flawed protagonists. Ages 10-up. (Aug.)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Praise for Dead Voices:

"Arden handily transforms the haunted house story into something much richer, scarier, and more sinister. . . Middle-graders who thrill to spooks and scares will find plenty (maybe even more than they bargained for!) here." —Booklist, starred review

"Arden's high scare factor, richly drawn mountain setting, relevant themes of loss and belonging, and vividly eerie descriptions evoke the very best of horror for this age set." —Kirkus, starred review

"In this spooky sequel to Small Spaces, Arden excels at creating an atmosphere of claustrophobic tension with memorably menacing details. Readers will again be invested in the ghoulish surprises in store for the resourceful, likably flawed protagonists." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Standing just fine on its own (though newcomers will definitely be inspired to read Small Spaces), this is a fine addition to any scary stories shelf." —School Library Journal
Katherine Arden
Katherine Arden is the New York Times bestselling author of the Winternight trilogy and the Small Spaces quartet. In addition to writing novels, she enjoys aimless travel, growing vegetables, and running wild through the woods with her dog. She lives in Vermont.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780525515074
Lexile Measure
550
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication date
June 30, 2020
Series
Small Spaces
BISAC categories
JUV028000 - Juvenile Fiction | Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
JUV001010 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure | Survival Stories
JUV018000 - Juvenile Fiction | Horror
Library of Congress categories
Friendship
Survival
JUVENILE FICTION / Mysteries & Detective Stor
Supernatural
Paranormal fiction
Best friends
Vermont
Haunted places
JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / Survi
Skis and skiing
Ski resorts

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