Small Spaces — Content Guide for Parents
Found in this book
- ViolenceSupporting
- Scary contentCentral
- ProfanityBrief
Not found
- Religion
- Race & culture
- Climate
- Sexual content
- Gender roles
- Gender & orientation
Content themes
Factual summary of themes present in this book. No opinion — just the facts.
Get the full theme breakdown in the app
Summaries and source quotes for every theme.
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Religion
PRESENTContains references to prayer and church attendance. A minister character plays a supporting role in two chapters.
About this book
After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie who only finds solace in books discovers a chilling ghost story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who 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.
Captivated by the tale, Ollie begins to wonder if the smiling man might be real when she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about on a school trip to a nearby farm. Then, later, when her school bus breaks down on the ride home, the strange bus driver tells Ollie and her classmates: "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 begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN.
Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed these warnings. 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.
Frequently asked questions
Is Small Spaces appropriate for a 7-year-old?
Ollie throws a rock at a boy's head, and the kids are hunted at night by scarecrows and the smiling man's servants, though the book has no gore. This is a horror story with ghosts, a sinister smiling man, a bus of vanished kids and watching scarecrows, described as creepy rather than gory.
Does Small Spaces have violence?
Found (Supporting): Ollie throws a rock at a boy's head, and the kids are hunted at night by scarecrows and the smiling man's servants, though the book has no gore.
Does Small Spaces have scary content?
Found (Central): This is a horror story with ghosts, a sinister smiling man, a bus of vanished kids and watching scarecrows, described as creepy rather than gory.
Does Small Spaces have religion?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Small Spaces have race & culture?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Small Spaces have profanity?
Found (Brief): Reader rating sites note about one mild swear word and one religious exclamation in the whole book.
Does Small Spaces have climate?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Small Spaces have sexual content?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Small Spaces have gender roles?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Small Spaces have gender & orientation?
Not found in the sources we checked.
