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The spellbindingly creepy middle-grade debut from the bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale.
‘Terrifying and fun.’ – R L Stine, author of Goosebumps
After rescuing a book from the river, eleven-year-old Ollie discovers a creepy ghost story about the Smiling Man, a fiendish trickster who can grant any wish – for a price. Luckily, it’s just a story …
But when Ollie finds the characters’ names carved into gravestones on a school trip to a farm, the story begins to feel terrifyingly real. And then the bus breaks down on the way home, under the watchful eyes of the scarecrows. And darkness starts to fall. ‘Best get moving,’ the bus driver warns the schoolchildren. ‘At nightfall they’ll come for the rest of you.’
As Ollie and two new friends work to unravel a hundred-year-old mystery and save their classmates from the Smiling Man, they’ll need quick thinking and even quicker feet if they’re going to survive.
Full of slow-burning tension, gloriously creepy writing and fantastically realised characters, this is horror at its best: a perfect read for fans of R L Stine, Jennifer Killick and Phil Hickes.
Genre: Children's Fiction
‘Terrifying and fun.’ – R L Stine, author of Goosebumps
After rescuing a book from the river, eleven-year-old Ollie discovers a creepy ghost story about the Smiling Man, a fiendish trickster who can grant any wish – for a price. Luckily, it’s just a story …
But when Ollie finds the characters’ names carved into gravestones on a school trip to a farm, the story begins to feel terrifyingly real. And then the bus breaks down on the way home, under the watchful eyes of the scarecrows. And darkness starts to fall. ‘Best get moving,’ the bus driver warns the schoolchildren. ‘At nightfall they’ll come for the rest of you.’
As Ollie and two new friends work to unravel a hundred-year-old mystery and save their classmates from the Smiling Man, they’ll need quick thinking and even quicker feet if they’re going to survive.
Full of slow-burning tension, gloriously creepy writing and fantastically realised characters, this is horror at its best: a perfect read for fans of R L Stine, Jennifer Killick and Phil Hickes.
Genre: Children's Fiction
Praise for this book
"This book scared the snot out of me. Fast-paced and spine-tinglingly delightful. I defy you to read the first two chapters without staying up the rest of the night to finish. You've been warned!" - Jonathan Auxier
"Is it a mystery? A fairy tale? A horror thriller? As the suspense gripped me, I just wanted to know one thing--WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Terrifying and fun." - R L Stine
"The perfect book to be read by firelight during a chilly autumn evening--though you might find yourself inching closer to the light as the story nears its terrifying conclusion. Katherine Arden is a gifted storyteller with a wicked imagination!" - J A White
"Is it a mystery? A fairy tale? A horror thriller? As the suspense gripped me, I just wanted to know one thing--WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Terrifying and fun." - R L Stine
"The perfect book to be read by firelight during a chilly autumn evening--though you might find yourself inching closer to the light as the story nears its terrifying conclusion. Katherine Arden is a gifted storyteller with a wicked imagination!" - J A White
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Used availability for Katherine Arden's Small Spaces