Okay WOW, I absolutely glued my face to Small Spaces! It was so good!
I started off reading last Sunday afternoon thinking, “Eh I’ll read a few chapters before working” and then it’s an hour later and I’m flipping pages anxiously after shouting at the sun and checking under my bed 57 times and saying, “whAt iS GoING ONNNN.”
Solid stuff here. Am a fan.
Also three things to note: (1) I literally can’t check under my bed because my bed is on the floor?!??!!? So look what this book has done to me. And (2) I don’t actually usually like thrillers (I’m never thrilled #sob) but I enjoyed this one so so much!! My thriller-opinion is CHANGED. And lastly (3) I actually read an ARC so the first picture of this post is badly photoshopped. Enjoy my skills ah ha ha.
✓ The amazingly created characters is what made this one stand out for me! I do like a good solid twisty plot, but charactesr who are complex, diverse, dimensional and LEAVE ME FEELING THINGS?!? Heck yes I’m more here for that. Tash is an anxious (and slightly neglected) wreck. Morgan is like an over-excited puppy of love. Sadie is here to be so fabulous you can see her glorious light shining from the moons. Mallory is soft™ and must be protected at all costs. I!! love!! them!! Books that focus on characters first always make me care —> which makes the plot way more compelling.
✓ The plot was also frikkin’ fine. It’s about Tash, now 17, still trying to recover from her traumatic childhood where she (a) had a creeptastic imaginary friend named Sparrow WHO WAS LIKE AN EVIL SPLOT YOU’D FIND IN THE BASEMENT, and (b) she witnessed a 6 year old little girl get kidnapped. But obviously when an 8-year-old says “My imaginary friend kidnapped her!” everyone just writes her off as an attention-seeking brat.
My heart really broke for Tash and the way her mental health was treated. It was infuriating who everyone diminished her as “attention seeking” when she was obviously anxious, even as a kid. And her mother was awful and condescending (argghh) and I think the book really highlighted how isolated you can feel with mental illness and not being believed.
✓ So is the imaginary friend real or not?! It keeps you guessing and second-guessing yourself the entire time! Is it paranormal? Is Tash really seriously seeing things? Is someone mucking up her life? IS THIS THE BROTHER OF STEPHAN KING’S IT OR SOMETHING??? Obviously I give no spoilers. (Mwhahaha.) But I LOVED how it was handled. Sparrow was so flipping creepy. I was genuinely CREEPED. If I say “creep” one more time you can creep over and turn me into a crepe or something. I mean.
#CREEPIFIED
✓ The whole plot tied together reeeeeally well at the end. Possibly it was a bit tight/clean/tidy, but more importantly I’m sitting here lowkey wishing for a sequel from this fantastic-friendship-squad, who are all slightly damaged but super adorable little boxes of trauma! Aww.
✗ My only quibble is that it was slow to warm up. But we also know I have the attention span of a refried gnat, so take that onboard! I just felt it dragged a little too much at the beginning (although I get it was to build tension and set the scene) and some of Tash’s decisions were like: “WHYYY TASH WHYYYY.” I mean she literally had a traumatic experience at her aunt’s creepy house as a kid and now, at 17 is like, “I’M SURE IT’LL BE FINE TO REVISIT.” aGhighajfffsss Look once I ate a piece of lettuce and it had a grasshopper near it, so now I can never eat lettuce again. Be like me. Be safe. Learn.
Small Spaces is one of my new favourite thrillers! A+ characters who had me invested within mere pages and the type of creeptastic imaginary friend that will make you ban yourself from imaginary games forever! Such fun! I will take 9 more!
THANKS TO WALKER BOOKS AUS FOR THE ARC! Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein was published April 2018!
Tash Carmody has been traumatised since childhood, when she witnessed her gruesome imaginary friend Sparrow lure young Mallory Fisher away from a carnival. At the time nobody believed Tash, and she has since come to accept that Sparrow wasn’t real. Now fifteen and mute, Mallory’s never spoken about the week she went missing.
As disturbing memories resurface, Tash starts to see Sparrow again. And she realises Mallory is the key to unlocking the truth about a dark secret connecting them. Does Sparrow exist after all? Or is Tash more dangerous to others than she thinks?
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Great review! I don’t read many thrillers myself. I used to be a big fan of thrillers when I was in my early teens (I’m now 32). Nowadays I read a thriller now and then, not that often in comparison to how often I read contemporary and fantasy (my favourite genres), but now and then I do read one.
I did have an imaginary friend when I was a kid, though I can’t remember many details about them (I’m saying them, because my imaginary friend wasn’t a boy or a girl. They were actually an (imaginary) alien. They were short and spring green (at least, that’s the closest of the colour I could find on Google and that’s what Google called it)).
I’m intrigued by the premise of Small Spaces, unfortunately the Dutch website I most often use, doesn’t have a physical copy (at least at the time of writing this). But I just ordered a lot of books yesterday, so I suppose I should wait anyway with buying more :P. I’ll just put it on the wishlist for now :).
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I usually find thrillers un-thrilling?! But now I feel like I’ve been just reading bad thrillers, bECAUSE THIS WAS SO GREAT. *cheers* I probably read about 1 thriller for every 100 books I read though hahah.😂
Aww that’s kind of cute you had an alien imaginary friend though!😂 As long as it WAS cute and not some creepy-potentially-psycho-murderer like in this book ah hahaa. Ahem. I didn’t do much imagination as a kid at all, to be honest, and I also had a sister to boss around, so no imaginary friends for me.v
I’m glad you like my recs though!! 😍😍
I REALLY AM A FAN OF THRILLERS. A year ago, I just craved psychological thrillers even though they gave me nightmares. I just like how twisted the characters and the story itself can be. I don’t know why but I love unreliable narrators even though they can be annoying and creepy at the same time. Anyway, thrillers give me the adrenaline rush I want and that’s why I love them.
I can’t remember having an imaginary friend though if I did, I can’t remember now. My memory is rusty so I can’t trust it to remember things from a decade ago. I had friends when I was a kid though and my sister was always there to play with me so I don’t think I ever needed an imaginary friend in the first place. I can’t be so sure though. *shrugs*
I haven’t been off my fantasy roller coaster ride for months now but I really want to read a good thriller if there’s one. I’m so interested with Small Spaces! Reading the blurb already creeped me out and it’s the kind of twisted story I know I will love. This book will definitely be added to the overflowing TBR pile.
TWISTED STORIES ARE GREAT. I’m beginning to think I just pick up all the bad thrillers because usually I’m eyerolling and unimpressed?! But this was FAB the whole way through and makes me want more twisted and creepy thrillers in my life.
I definitely didn’t have imaginary friends as a kid, ah ahha, I was too practical. Plus I had an actual real-life sister to boss around. 😂
Oh, I’m so gonna add this book to my reading list! 😍 I really want to know if it’s an imaginary friend or somebody else. It loosely makes me think of The Black Tapes, a podcast I’m listening.
I think I might also connect really well with Tash. We thought I was attention-seeking too when I was a kid.
Yesss you should! It’s AMAZING and os much fun (like…creepy fun?! I’m not sure if I can say fun. Let’s just go with it).
This sounds interesting, I’ll look it up. Though I don’t typically read thrillers because I’m worried I’ll end up really stressed after but since when do bookworms care about being mentally healthy?
I know right?? Pfft @ mental health and sanity and calmness. We’re not here for that nonsense.😂
OH MY GRACIOUS I AM SO READ THIS *scrambles to nearest bookstore*
IT CALLS TO YOU!! Which sounds creepy, but so is the book so it works.😂
Giiiirl you really should stop blowing up my TBR. D: I don’t read a lot of thrillers, but I love getting confused AF, then realizing everything once they’re revealed and wondering why I couldn’t have thought about that myself. I am ready for this book!!!
I barely read thrillers either and I barely like them when I do soooo you have to believe me that this is one not to miss.😂😂 Your TBR is so WELCOME for the pain.😂
I don’t read many thrillers myself but I can read one every now and then 😀 And girl, you should stop doing this to my TBR! This plot and story looks absolutely amazing.
Umm I can’t remember having any imaginary friend though.
YOU AND YOUR TBR ARE WELCOME FOR THE PAIN AND TRAUMA. *twirls majestically* 😂
As I am a smol child and get scared from a vacuum cleaner, I don’t read much horror or thriller. There was one thriller I read. It scared the crap out of me. I was reading this book when in the story the murder has come to the girls bedroom and was knocking on the door, and at this point my dad knocked on my door and i swear i through the book halfway across the room and almost peed myself… I am never reading that book again. I’m still scared of it. Thanks Cait! Sounds scary and amazing
Ah ahhaha okay if it makes you feel better my dog is also terrified of the vacuum cleaner. You two should cuddle together sometime to survive the trauma. And omg to that knocking-at-the-door experience though?! That would scare the crap out of me too.😂
OH GOD. I already feel terrified and all I did was read the blurb #halp. I love that this messes with your head about an imaginary friend! My parents like to tell me about the imaginary friend I had when I was 3 but the creepy thing is I DON’T REMEMBER THAT I HAD ONE. Maybe I had a real friend and my parents killed them? Whoa that got dark ahaha okay. I never normally read thrillers because they leave me feeling so cold and depressed (even though they are exciting and satisfying) but this one sounds really tempting!
That is DEFINITELY the most logical conclusion to come to is that your parents killed your real friend as a child. *nods* I would go with that too.😂😂 But dude YES READ THIS IT’S SO GOOD AND CHILLING.
I have this imaginary friend…or rather sister. I call her Shar and pretend that she writes my blog with me (jkjk Shar is totally real). I don’t like many thrillers but when I can occassionally be convinced to try them, I find them creepy but compelling. I really liked The Loneliest Girl in the Universe; I guessed the plot twist, but the author made e think that I had guessed wrong, and that is skill. I haven’t read Small Spaces, but I’ll definitely look out for it!
Duuude, this is the BEST BURN EVER. I’m using this on my sister now. Although tbh if I call her an imaginary friend and she gets wind of this book she might enjoy the whole creepy/murdery part. Ahem.
I don’t think I’ve read *any* thriller books?? And my library doesn’t actually have a copy of Small Spaces (as expected). UGH. It does look very interesting though, and it’s gone on my TBR!
Well definitely not a surprise for your library haha, since this is an Aussie one. 😂 But maybe they’d buy it on request?!
Okay so what I’ve gotten from this review is that Small Spaces is basically Drop Dead Fred if Fred was evil????
I’m so pumped to read this after reading your review, it wasn’t even on my radar before now!
+The whole not eating lettuce because it had a grasshopper on it once, I think, is a perfectly acceptable reason to never eat it again! Uck.
I’m not sure honestly sorry because I don’t know Drop Dead Fred? (Is it a book?) But AHH. I’m glad you enjoyed the review! And honestly I’m ready to burn and ban lettuce from the entire planet. There is no half-hate with me. IT’s totally annihilation if a grasshopper offends me.
It’s a movie from like the 90s I think? I only know of it because my aunt made me watch it but I really enjoyed it!
It was about a woman who had an imaginary friend growing up who did bad things (not as bad as this though by the sounds of it) and he comes when she’s an adult.
I totally understand 😂 I actually avoid it most of the time, especially on burgers because it always gets stuck in my throat and I can feel it flap around when I breathe 😫 it’s made me sick before 🤢 lettuce is the enemy and it must be stopped!
Ooo, this looks marvelous. HECK YEAH IMAGINARY FRIENDS!! Aren’t all imaginary friends stabby? Well, at least all good ones?
I know right?! If your imaginary friend doesn’t want to drown/murder/lock you in a box…are they even your friend?!?
I’ve heard a lot of positive hype around the book, so I was hesitant to pick it up, but now that it has the Paper Fury Seal of Approval, I’ll be checking it out asap 🙂
It’s so goooood! If you like thrillers and being slightly creeped out!😂
Yeah, definitely a fan of The Thriller *manic cackling*
Normally I don’t ‘get’ thrillers? something about the writing style feels bland?? but hey, if you jumped out of the fantasy/contemporary genres to recommend Small Spaces, I’m in! ;P (plus you said the characters are the kind you really get invested in, and characters are important to my emotional investment, so!)
Saaaame. I generally feel they focus on plot over characters so I never really care?! But this one was so different and AWESOME.
Oh, I really want to read this now! I’ve had my eye on it for a little while 🙂
Thanks Cait!
But actually I have just finished by birthday book list so will have to wait until after I’ve finished these first!
This is what I chose 🙂
(I’m so excited!! Books!! Yay!)
• The Walled City – Ryan Graudin
• More than we can Tell – Brigid Kemerer
• Undine – Penni Russon
• No Limits – Ellie Marney
• The Astonishing Colour of After – Emily X.R Pan
🙂
Ahh I hope you get a chance sometime soon!! And omg I really want to read The Walled City (I actually own it so I have no excuse) so I hope you love it!
Yessss this won the vote for books I should read next, so I literally just picked it up! I’m loving how easy it is to get into and I’m ready to get creeped out lol.
Oooh, I am so hoping you love it too!! Although I’m so late replying to comments you’ve probably already read it, right?!😂
Oooh I’ll def be checking it out! I love thrillers, they’re a lot of what I read! I don’t think I had an imaginary friend when I was young but I’m pretty sure I talked to my stuffed animals like they were persons so I guess that counts .. 😛
Haha stuffed animals made great childhood friends.😂 And I hope you enjoy this thriller too!
I’ve never read thrillers tbh… I’ve only read The Girl On The Train, it’s more mystery than thriller but ehh, and I really liked it. Though, I have a few thrillers on my terrifying tbr. And this one has been added 😀 Actually, I didn’t have imaginary friends… ever… BUT I used to ‘act’ in a story of my own invention and pretend I was in a movie (mostly action movies) and I was the protagonist and at that time I was obsessed with Disney so I would make space for a few songs also of my own invention. I was such a weird kid…
You sound like you were an awesome kid ah hhaha! 😂 That’s so cool though! I didn’t have an imaginary friend either, tbh, I was just writing books and stapling them together and wondering how to get them put in a bookstore.😂 Like yes, 10 year old Cait, you can just walk into a bookstore and put your stapled together pages on the shelf, that’LL BE FINE.
Oh my frigging crap I saw this book in my library and read it in my bed with a small light one too terrified to get out it was that amazing. *breathes* But asdfghjkl I can’t even look at shadows anymore it was excellent. *flips out*
IT WAS SO SO GOOD. I want to read everything this author writes!