Dark Waters by Katherine Arden is the third book in the Small Spaces series for juvenile readers.
After meeting and barely surviving the smiling man in Dead Voices, Ollie, Coco and Brian are all on edge. They know that he'll come again and they want to be ready. Throughout the winter, the trio have avoided mirrors and have researched any and all scary myths or legends they could find, all while staying together and trying to never be alone.
But finally, the weather is changing and the three get a chance to go out on Lake Champlain for the day. Excited to get a way from their own nerves for a day, the jump at the chance. But lake monsters are legends too and the waters of Lake Champlain are darker then they seem.
I am totally not a scary adult fiction fan but for some reason, when it comes to juvenile lit, I am all for it! And I love the creepy, actually scary vibe of Arden's Small Spaces series.
Dark Waters brings back our heroes and takes us on another "winner takes all" survival ride but it doesn't quite have the same truly "creeping me out" moments that the first two books have. I think, it is because, this book sets the stage for a "final battle." We are left with a whopper of a cliff hanger and the feeling that what comes next will settle things once and for all.
Each book in this series seems to highlight one of the three children and Dark Waters was Brian's book. He is the narrator of the story and it is really up to him to get the group out of the mist. I did miss Ollie's perspective in this book because in the second book, even though Coco was the main narrator, Ollie is still the one the Smiling Man wants and has her own narrative. So, I wish she had her own in this book as well.
Ultimately, I can't wait for the final book and with that cliff hanger, I hope it comes out sooner than later! This one gets 3.5 stars from me.
That's all for now!
-M-