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Empty Smiles

   (1 review)

Description

New York Times bestselling author Katherine Arden thrills once again in the finale to the critically acclaimed, bone-chilling quartet that began with Small Spaces.

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.


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lunababymoonchild

  

I think that this one is the best of the quartet and it's not necessary to have read the other three in order to enjoy it.  That said, the other three books do explain the relationships betwen the characters, especially the children, and go a long way to explaining the smiling man.

 

This one came across as the scariest of them all, most of the action takes place at night, and thus in the dark (my own personal irrational fear) with most of the horror coming from clowns (apparently a high number of children are actually scared of clowns. My opinion is because clowns wear make-up and  their faces can't be seen  properly so they can't be recognised without their make-up, which is scary imho, but that's just a theory). What happens to you when the clown catches you is original, and scary but not graphic, and the fix is brilliant. 

 

Aimed at children 10 years and up, this is absolutely great!

 

Recommended.

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