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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.
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
September 25, 2018 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780525638780
- File size: 152141 KB
- Duration: 05:16:57
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- Lexile® Measure: 570
- Text Difficulty: 2-3
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Reviews
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August 6, 2018
Eleven-year-old Ollie lives with her big-hearted baking enthusiast father following the tragic death of her mother, and finds respite from her grief through reading. Her circumstances take a supernatural turn when she encounters a frightening woman attempting to throw a book into the river. When Ollie, drawn to the book, takes it, the woman warns Ollie to “avoid large places at night... keep to small.” In its pages, Ollie reads of a long-ago family whose losses led them to make a dreadful pact with a demonic figure known as “the smiling man.” And on a class trip to a dairy farm, Ollie and two classmates—with whom she forms a reluctant connection—learn that the smiling man is very real. Arden (The Bear and the Nightingale) shrouds her Halloween-time story in autumnal mists, introducing a sometimes-crowded cast of ominous figures, from ghosts to shapeshifters and scarecrow minions. Ollie is a relatable heroine who finds strength through trusting in friendship, while her ghostly adventures lead her to learn an important truth: sometimes, the best way to honor the memory of a loved one is by moving forward, bravely, and with love. Ages 10–up. Agent: Paul Lucas, Janklow & Nesbit Associates. -
Narrator Renee Dorian gives voice to a relatable 11-year-old heroine in this atmospheric horror story perfect for Halloween listening. It is a sunny October day when Ollie steals a book from a hysterical woman who is trying to destroy it. As Ollie reads of a long-ago devil's bargain, she realizes it is the true history of the farm where her class is on a field trip. On the way home, the school bus breaks down, and the creepy driver advises: "Best get moving. At nightfall they'll come for the rest of you." Dorian gives the driver a gruff monotone that makes him even more terrifying. In this deliciously scary adventure scarecrows come to life and the devil lurks in the center of a corn maze. S.C. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
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