Nostalgia Rules by Katherine Arden

Long live the spooky middle grade reads. Katherine Arden came out with her foray into the middle school reading group last year. It took me a while to get to it but when I did I was transported back to the era of reading books in secret late into the night. Oh, sweet memories. Stashing books between my wheelchair motor and my seat to hide them from my parents because I was always grounded from reading. I was a very well behaved child (although treated like I was the worst because I was the oldest kid in the house) but I would rebel against the system for my books! Oh, how I rebelled. Books hidden EVERYWHERE. But, anyway - I get distracted...ahem...

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

Image Description: Illustrated so that the viewer is looking out from between two wide apart trees. The border of the cover are the blackened silhouettes of the trees. The right side has the black silhouette of a creepy looking scarecrow with straw hat, two empty see-through eyes, and a stitched smiling face. Above written in the branches of the trees is the title of the book "Small Spaces'. Ahead, through the forest is a school bus stopped on a road. Behind them a field of violet with dark silhouettes of scare crow and even farther a lavender silhouette of a barn and a silo. Everything outside of the forest (except for the scarecrows and bus) are various shades of violets and pinks casting the environment in twilight.

Publishing: September 25th 2018 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Pg Count: Hardcover, 219 pages

After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn't think--she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read the slender volume, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both 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. Ollie is captivated by the tale until her school trip the next day to Smoke Hollow, a local farm with a haunting history all its own. There she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about. Could it be the story about the smiling man is true? Ollie doesn't have too long to think about the answer to that. On the way home, the school bus breaks down, sending their teacher back to the farm for help. But the strange bus driver has some advice for the kids left behind in his care: "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, a keepsake reminder of better times, begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN. Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed the bus driver's warning. 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. - Nabbed from Goodreads

Nostalgia rules forever in the land of Small Spaces. And yet, it is entirely set in modern middle school-land. Cell phones are featured - because you know all kids have cell phones now. I remember back in the day me and my brother had to share this one cell phone and we only got to have it to ourselves when we were out and about doing stuff with friends. We weren't allowed to text on it. And middle school? HA. I did not have a cell phone in middle school! I'm getting distracted again! Grr...argh...

Ahem. 

I quite enjoyed Small Spaces. It was spooky but not terrifying. I think it could be too much for a sensitive child but just right for most kids. If there are children reading this (or my niece or nephew) - its absolutely okay to read a spooky book in broad daylight with your Mom in the kitchen in easy reach of a butcher knife (to defend you, of course) and with or without a stuffie for your snuggling comfort. It's also okay to stay up with a light from the cellphone that I would have never had at your age and read until your eyes are so heavy that you fall asleep with the book plastered onto your face. Whatever works for you is great when it comes to reading a spooky book.

Ollie is the kind of girl I could have been friends with. A reader with a Dad who cooks her good food? That sounds familiar to me! And her 'sidekicks' are exactly the friends she should have. Except she doesn't know she needs to have them as her friends. Spoiler...they become her friends. 

To avoid other spoilers I won't go into detail about the actual plot. I can, however, completely rave about how Small Spaces is a spooky delight. Much like one of my favorites - Meg in A Wrinkle Of Time - she's dealing with the loss of a parent and no one seems to be able to reach her. But, through the perilous journey she will find herself with companions and challenges that work her through the grief and trauma to becoming the heroine they all require in their hours of need. Our heroine is capable, strong, and developed. Her emotional journey is satisfyingly paired with her physical and material journey. 

I think, what also makes this book so successful in execution is that it doesn't treat the reader too carefully. I think that it might be easy when writing a middle school aged book to overthink what is appropriate or not to put into the story. Being afraid of going too far in the action or too much in the facts and historical context in case you either legitimately traumatize or bore the target audience. Arden balances both with grace. It's a kids book but its not a 'I'm an Adult writing down to children' kind of book. 

The reason I'm featuring it on my blog is because I think we as adults all need to go back in time every once in a while and read a book that we would have loved when we were the targeted reading age range of said book. Its good for the spirit and one of my favorite ways to take a grown up stay-cation. 

Also - I really love Katherine Arden. 

And so I  absolutely give Small Spaces an excellent five star review and hope that you all will pick it up for yourself or gift it to the middle school reader in your life.

Happy reading!

Jess

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft - Tess Sharp, Jessica Spotswood

Visual Description: Purple cover with "Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft' in large white semi-cursive script. Framing the cover are simple illustrations colored in variations of gold, orange, and white - cats, swirling ivy, poison, skulls, moon, cauldrons, cawing crows, open palm, and a spider web.

Publishing: August 28th, 2018. Harlequin Teen.

Pg Count: 405 pgs, Hardcover

Find more info: Goodreads

"A young adult fiction anthology of 15 stories featuring contemporary, historical, and futuristic stories featuring witchy heroines who are diverse in race, class, sexuality, religion, geography, and era. Are you a good witch or a bad witch? Glinda the Good Witch. Elphaba the Wicked Witch. Willow. Sabrina. Gemma Doyle. The Mayfair Witches. Ursula the Sea Witch. Morgan le Fey. The three weird sisters from Macbeth. History tells us women accused of witchcraft were often outsiders: educated, independent, unmarried, unwilling to fall in line with traditional societal expectations. Bold. Powerful. Rebellious. A bruja’s traditional love spell has unexpected results. A witch’s healing hands begin to take life instead of giving it when she ignores her attraction to a fellow witch. In a terrifying future, women are captured by a cabal of men crying witchcraft and the one true witch among them must fight to free them all. In a desolate past, three orphaned sisters prophesize for a murderous king. Somewhere in the present, a teen girl just wants to kiss a boy without causing a hurricane. From good witches to bad witches, to witches who are a bit of both, this is an anthology of diverse witchy tales from a collection of diverse, feminist authors. The collective strength of women working together—magically or mundanely--has long frightened society, to the point that women’s rights are challenged, legislated against, and denied all over the world. Toil & Trouble delves deep into the truly diverse mythology of witchcraft from many cultures and feminist points of view, to create modern and unique tales of witchery that have yet to be explored." - Nabbed from Goodreads

'Tis the season for witches and things that go bump in the night. Actually - in my firm opinion - there is no such thing as a 'season for witches' because witches are timeless and deserve love every season of the year. If not because they are nature-based and obviously WAY more in tune with the seasons than we are - then because we are in desperate need of magick year around. That being said..there is something obvious about the cooling, coming Autumn time that inspires a person to curl up with a witchy book or two. "Toil and Trouble' was the first book I picked up this year when I started getting that witchy vibe coming on. I've been looking forward to it forever - I'm a huge fan of Jessica Spotswood's anthology editing work. She's brought me not one but TWO Tyranny of Petticoats books and now this...Toil and Trouble. Fifteen tales of women and witchcraft.

Absolutely and utterly my cup of mystic tea.

Toil & Trouble is everything that it promises to be. It spans time, the world, worlds (plural)...etc. Each one stands on their own and it's a terrible choice to figure out which ones deserve specific mention. It's one of the best anthologies in YA, if not THE best ever. I honestly haven't read much anthologies outside of YA so I can't say it's top dog outside of the genre BUT...I can suggest it to anyone whose interests are outside of the Young Adult genre.

There's layers upon layers of feelings and meanings that the anthology encompasses as a whole. And individually the stories will sing to you in different ways. Songs that sooth, that enrage, that heal, that inspire, that devastate, that make you burn as surely as our predecessors burned at the stake for being.

I am suggesting Toil & Trouble to basically everyone, ANYONE, who is remotely interested.

Until next time,

Jess

The Butterfly Garden - Dot Hutchison

Published : June 1st, 2016
Publisher : Thomas & Mercer
Page Count : 288 pgs (E-book)
Genre : Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Fiction
About the Author : Website

"Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden. In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees…and a collection of precious “butterflies”—young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens.When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself. As her story twists and turns, slowly shedding light on life in the Butterfly Garden, Maya reveals old grudges, new saviors, and horrific tales of a man who’d go to any length to hold beauty captive. But the more she shares, the more the agents have to wonder what she’s still hiding..." - Nabbed from Goodreads Blurb


It's been a while since I've read a book that kept me up all night. Whether or not this is a good thing, I'm not sure. The Butterfly Garden kept popping up at me on Kindle Unlimited. I don't normally voyage into thrillers. I have yet to read Stephen King (on my to-do list, I just haven't decided what I want to read). I love mysteries, I'm not afraid of the darker tales and the elements and plot decisions that come with them, and I like a good dose of originality no matter the genre or context. The Butterfly Garden has all these things. And I stayed up all night reading it. But, it didn't quite add up to five stars for me. I'd have to settle at three and a half - almost a four. Still impressive and nothing to scoff at. 

It immediately drew me with the way the narrative was constructed and the story presented to the reader. I won't give too much away but imagine we're in a intense, psychologically-thrilling cop movie or miniseries and we start in the aftermath - in the police room interrogating the one person who can give true light to the horror that has unfolded. It's because of this that you're not entirely sure until the very end that you're not being led on a wild, crazy goose chase. That Maya (the communicator of this horrific tale) isn't completely insane from her experiences, suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, or just trying cover herself up. There are cracks in her story, threads that need to be tied together (or maybe were already tied?). 

Yet, we understand Maya as time goes on and so does the cops. She's a real character surviving a horrific environment. Things need to be sacrificed, decisions have to be made, and there is very little hope. Not even for us, because, the way the discovery of the victims is describes in the start of the novel leads us to believe it was as accidental and unintentional. Fantastic work there, Police Force. One of the victims was like a US Senator's daughter. The psychological and emotional toll on the victim (or is she?) is clear and communicated. It's not entirely communicated straight forward like but it's easy to see and to understand. 

The pace was a bit slow. I kept reading because I wanted to know what was happening and I wanted to see the ties tied up (or not). The influencing factor on this pace is the creative presentation of narration. It's true to form. And, if we're being honest - if you're kidnapped by a insane man and tattoo'd up, called a Butterfly, raped and molested, and expect to die young, and all of this in a weird underground garden - it's going to be a long, emotional process. It's not all action, it's not all fast-paced. The weight of the trauma is...emotional and psychological. I applaud the authenticity of the writing and the presentation. It just makes the plot drag on for a time in the middle. 

I would suggest this read to anyone who has an interested in thrillers, in mysteries, and can stomach the darker. However, I need to add before I conclude this post - that this is not a Young Adult novel. I saw on Goodreads that some were complaining that it was categorized as such. I wouldn't categorize it as YA. Does is have young adults in it? Yes. They're the victims, the 'Butterflies'. But, that's it. I wouldn't suggest it to a teenager unless I felt they were ready to handle the content. 

Three and a half stars - almost four! The Butterfly Garden will draw you in from the start and - in my experience - you'll go to the end because you're just not quite sure what's what and how it all is going to play out. 

Until next time readers, 

Jess