Starred Review Ollie, Coco, and Brian formed a deep bond after the events of Small Spaces (2018), and now the trio of friends, along with Coco's mom and Ollie's dad, are headed to a newly opened ski lodge after Ollie's dad won a contest. If this sounds like the set-up for a classic haunted house story, you're right on the money: there's an ominous ghostly figure on the road leading to the lodge; they arrive amid a terrible blizzard; the power goes out in the already dark building; both Ollie and Coco are beset by vivid nightmares; a ghost hunter arrives at the last minute; and, of course, there's terrifying taxidermy everywhere. But Arden is skilled in the art of misdirection his is more than just a riff on a classic trope. It would spoil too much to give away much more detail, but Arden handily transforms the haunted house story into something much richer, scarier, and more sinister, tricky and challenging for the trio to puzzle out. Arden is fantastic at cultivating atmosphere, and she uses that to great effect in this novel, particularly when it comes to describing the sensory experience of the lodge and the appearance of the many ghastly ghosts and creatures. Middle-graders who thrill to spooks and scares will find plenty (maybe even more than they bargained for!) here.

A winter vacation takes a terrifying turn.Two months after their encounter with "the smiling man" in Small Spaces (2018), sixth graders Coco, Ollie, and Brian go on a ski trip. Though money has been tight, Ollie's dad won a week at Vermont's newest ski resort, Mount Hemlock, as an incentive for his job selling solar panels. Unfortunately, the lucky trip doesn't turn out so lucky. On the way there, Coco dreams of a gray-faced, frozen girl who's looking for her lost bones. When Ollie starts having similar dreams, it becomes clear that there's a reason Mount Hemlock has never before been open to the public. The surprising arrival of a paranormal investigator named Mr. Voland offers the kids a chance to get to the bottom of things. But do they really want to know the truth about what lurks at Hemlock Lodge? With warnings like "Don't listen to the voices," the plot initially reads similarly to its predecessor. However, Arden creates far more than just a carbon copy in a different setting. Those who had secondary roles in the first book get deeper characterization, especially white Coco and black, bookish jock Brian. (Ollie is also white) Arden's high scare factor, richly drawn mountain setting, relevant themes of loss and belonging, and vividly eerie descriptions evoke the very best of horror for this age set.

A winter vacation takes a terrifying turn.Two months after their encounter with "the smiling man" in Small Spaces (2018), sixth graders Coco, Ollie, and Brian go on a ski trip. Though money has been tight, Ollie's dad won a week at Vermont's newest ski resort, Mount Hemlock, as an incentive for his job selling solar panels. Unfortunately, the lucky trip doesn't turn out so lucky. On the way there, Coco dreams of a gray-faced, frozen girl who's looking for her lost bones. When Ollie starts having similar dreams, it becomes clear that there's a reason Mount Hemlock has never before been open to the public. The surprising arrival of a paranormal investigator named Mr. Voland offers the kids a chance to get to the bottom of things. But do they really want to know the truth about what lurks at Hemlock Lodge? With warnings like "Don't listen to the voices," the plot initially reads similarly to its predecessor. However, Arden creates far more than just a carbon copy in a different setting. Those who had secondary roles in the first book get deeper characterization, especially white Coco and black, bookish jock Brian. (Ollie is also white) Arden's high scare factor, richly drawn mountain setting, relevant themes of loss and belonging, and vividly eerie descriptions evoke the very best of horror for this age set.

In a spooky sequel to Small Spaces, Arden alternates between the perspectives of friends Ollie, Coco, and Brian as they travel with Ollie-s father and Coco-s mother to a Vermont mountain cabin, where Ollie-s dad has won a stay. The three friends have been inseparable since autumn, when they encountered an alternate world populated by living scarecrows and governed by a terrifying figure called the Smiling Man, and they are eager to put the experience behind them. Soon, though, snowed in at the foreboding Mount Hemlock Resort, which once served as an orphanage, the friends find themselves trapped within a paranormal labyrinth haunted by the ghosts of Gretel, a child who died after becoming locked in a closet, and of the frightening woman who locked her there. With the assistance of a reporter investigating the resort-s hauntings, Ollie, Coco, and Brian set out to communicate with the restless spirits. Arden excels at creating an atmosphere of claustrophobic tension with memorably menacing details. Readers will again be invested in the ghoulish surprises in store for the resourceful, likably flawed protagonists. Ages 10-up. (Aug.)

Gr 5-8 -A free ski vacation turns into a good news/bad news scenario for middle schoolers Coco, Brian, and Ollie (Olivia) and brings with it an unwelcome reunion with an old enemy in this sequel to Small Spaces. The good news? Ollie's dad won a week at a newly renovated ski lodge. The bad news? The lodge, a former orphanage, is haunted to the rafters. Coco loves being with her friends and views the growing relationship between her mom and Ollie's dad hopefully, but she's no fan of skiing, and she's the first to have an encounter with a ghost. The vacation goes downhill quickly, with a dangerous snowstorm wreaking havoc and plenty of disturbing encounters with creepy taxidermy animals and even creepier ghosts. The appearance of a ghost hunter, who offers the kids the chance to learn how to communicate with ghosts, is welcome at first, until they realize that he is really the Smiling Man, looking for a rematchand revenge. This is mostly Coco's story; the least confident of the trio, she's the one who eventually figures out how to defeat the Smiling Man. Ollie's dead mother, communicating through her old watch, plays a part as well. Brian doesn't get a lot to do, nor do most of the adults, but the door is left open for further spooky adventures. VERDICT Standing just fine on its own (though newcomers will definitely be inspired to read Small Spaces), this is a fine addition to any scary stories shelf.-Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library