Dead Voices
(Small Spaces #2)
By Katherine Arden
Penguin Random House
Source: ARC from pub
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.
With their terrifying encounter with the dangerous smiling man and his scarecrows closely behind them, new BFFS, Ollie; Coco; and Brian, along with Ollie’s dad and Coco’s mom, are headed to a ski vacation at the newly reopened Mount Hemlock Resort. But their vacation soon takes a sinister turn when a powerful snowstorm traps them inside the resort and a ghost hunter shows up spinning ghostly tales about the resort. Soon those tales become reality and the three friends find themselves running from ghosts and trying to figure out why Ollie’s not-so-normal watch is telling them BEWARE.
Katherine Arden follows up her excellent Small Spaces with another spooktacularly spine-tingling middle-grade adventure! Captivating storytelling, likable characters, and an exciting fast pace make Dead Voices an exhilarating page turner.
It’s no secret that young readers crave the fun of awesomely scary stories, so Dead Voices will certainly not disappoint. With a lushly eerie atmosphere, this book is genuinely spooky in all the right and age-appropriate ways. From a creeptastic setting with a perfectly twisted backstory to a deliciously frightful ghost story, unpredictable twists, and imaginative horror elements, Dead Voices is dripping with more than enough chills and thrills to keep even the most reluctant reader on the edge of their seat.
I really enjoyed getting to know Ollie, Coco, and Brian even better in this sequel. Young readers will find these three friends comfortingly relatable, awesomely capable, and a lot of fun to tag along with. Ollie’s dad and Coco’s mom make for interesting secondary characters and I’m already fully invested in their side story.
Dead Voices wraps up one wicked adventure nicely, while excitedly setting up future stories...which is definitely a good thing because readers are going to be hungry for more!
MY RATING
5/5 Cupcakes
Born in Austin, Texas, Katherine Arden spent a year of high school in Rennes, France. Following her acceptance to Middlebury College in Vermont, she deferred enrollment for a year in order to live and study in Moscow. At Middlebury, she specialized in French and Russian literature. After receiving her BA, she moved to Maui, Hawaii, working every kind of odd job imaginable, from grant writing and making crepes to guiding horse trips. Currently, she lives in Vermont, but really, you never know.
BAKING PROJECT INSPIRED BY DEAD VOICES
Y'all know that I love cupcakes almost as much as I love books, so for this blog tour Little A and I made cupcakes inspired by Dead Voices:
The cupcakes are a white cake base with hot chocolate mix and tiny marshmallows inside: the white mix for the snowstorm in the book and the hot chocolate because the characters love it. Two of the cupcakes are decorated with a swirl of buttercream frosting in colors inspired by the cover and marshmallow ghosts! And of course, the other cupcake is decorated to look like yummy hot chocolate, with a dollop of "whip cream" (buttercream), some hot cocoa powder, sprinkled on top, mini marshmallows, and a straw. I think Ollie, Coco, Brian, and Ollie's Dad (who loves to cook) would approve!
Blog Tour Schedule
Week One
August 19 – The Midnight Society – Inspiration Collage
August 20 – Fangirl Fury – Review + Inspired by the Book: Baking Recipe
August 21 – Teachers Who Read – Reviews + Author Guest Post: Why spooky for middle grade readers?
August 22 – Bookishgals – Creative Instagram Picture
August 23 – Liezel and Angie’s Book Blog – Review
Week Two
August 26 – Word Spelunking – Inspired by the Book: Baking Project
August 27 – By Hook or By Book – Review
August 28 – Vicariously & Voraciously
August 29 – The Book Deviant – Review
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