“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.”
In what is touted to be the last book in the Small
Spaces Quartet, Empty Smiles brings everything to the head, but it also feels
somewhat lacking. I’ve enjoyed this series immensely, as author Katherine Arden
is able to create an atmospheric world of scary things, with children battling
an evil known only as the smiling man. And three quarters of Empty Smiles is
great, setting up what I hoped was a satisfying conclusion and some answers to
a lot of questions. Arden leaves so many things unexplained and the conclusion
feels rushed and unsatisfying. There is no explanation of who or what the
smiling man is, and there is no closure for the reader. We are left with our
fists clenched and all for nothing.
There is some creepy stuff here, like the attack on
the Egg, which often reminded me of the Gentlemen creatures from the Buffy the
Vampire Slayer episode Hush. Arden’s talent is on great display here as the clowns
(who are carnie people by day) attack Coco, Brian, and Phil’s family, turning
them into dolls, which then reminded me of the Doctor Who episode Night
Terrors.
Ultimately, everything falls flat here. The stakes
were high, yet the problem is so easily solved that even if I was a middle aged
kid reading this book, I would be disappointed. So the book feels rushed, as if
the author was trying to meet a pushed up deadline; too many questions left
hanging, no real explanation of why the smiling man let everyone go, or why he
was afraid of the Funhouse.
Perhaps this is not the end? Maybe she’ll continue the
series or move the darker themes up to a more adult world? I mean, I could see
her returning to these characters as teens or young adults. But maybe that’s wishful
thinking?
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