Empty Smiles by Katherine Arden

Title: Empty Smiles
Series: Small Spaces #4
Author: Katherine Arden
Source/Format: Purchased; Hardcover
More Details: Middle-Grade; Horror; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers; August 9, 2022

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

New York Times bestselling author Katherine thrills once again in the finale to the critically acclaimed, spook-tacular quartet that began with Small Spaces.

It’s been three months since Ollie made a daring deal with the smiling man to save those she loved, and then vanished without a trace. The smiling man promised Coco, Brian and Phil, that they’d have a chance to save her, but as time goes by, they begin to worry that the smiling man has lied to them and Ollie is gone forever. But finally, a clue surfaces. A boy who went missing at a nearby traveling carnival appears at the town swimming hole, terrified and rambling. He tells anyone who'll listen about the mysterious man who took him. How the man agreed to let him go on one condition: that he deliver a message. Play if you dare. Game on! The smiling man has finally made his move. Now it’s Coco, Brian, and Phil’s turn to make theirs. And they know just where to start. The traveling carnival is coming to Evansburg. Meanwhile, Ollie is trapped in the world behind the mist, learning the horrifying secrets of the smiling man's carnival, trying everything to help her friends find her. Brian, Coco and Phil will risk everything to rescue Ollie—but they all soon realize this game is much more dangerous than the ones before. This time the smiling man is playing for keeps. The summer nights are short, and Ollie, Coco, Brian, and Phil have only until sunrise to beat him once and for all—or it’s game over for everyone.

**Note: since this is #4 there will be spoilers for the series, you have been warned!**

Small Spaces was a fun and delightful series. And with the highly anticipated release of Empty Smiles, one of my favorite spooky middle grades series has reached its conclusion. And with the cover pointing towards summertime and clowns, I was ready for Ollie, Brian, Coco, and Phil’s latest scary adventure beyond the mist.

A big theme of this series is how it plays on fears, while also dealing with heavy themes (like death of a loved one) through the eyes of its protagonists. Each character has grown since the beginning of the series, and Empty Smiles effectively brought their story arcs to a close.

I liked the way the Smiling Man’s latest game was structured. It was different from the other three books in the series, but I enjoyed the way it was written. It kept it from feeling too repetitive, while still offering the same suspense and scares as Small Spaces, Dead Voices, and Dark Waters. Except, it involved a creepy carnival and everything associated with it.

However, I was surprised by the way Empty Smiles handled the Smiling Man. The dynamics with the characters were different, considering the absolute cliffhanger at the end of Dark Waters. It fleshed out his character in a way the first three books didn’t, and by doing so it kind of lifted the veil a little bit. Despite it, there was still an air of mystery and danger surrounding him. You never knew if he was being helpful or deliberately tricky and malicious. But I appreciated the answers that were offered by Empty Smiles.

I’m going to miss this series. For a couple of years now, it’s been one of my go-to picks for September-October. But at the same time, it was a solid quartet of stories. All-in-all, I’ll be on the lookout for whatever Katherine Arden writes next.