Small Favors – Erin A. Craig, Penguin Random House, 2021

Book reviewed by Chris J Kenworthy, for Armadillo magazine.

‘Small Favors’ is a Young Adult novel about having deep desires, and the consequences of them coming true at the hands of mysterious creatures.

The story follows Ellerie Downing, a resident of the close-knit community of Amity Falls – a small town in the Blackspire Mountain range, that’s surrounded by a dark and mysterious forest.

Ellerie and her family are friendly with the other townsfolk, who are all always there for each other. The early settlers of Amity Falls once fought off monsters in the woods, and established a set of rules – listed at the beginning of the book – to keep the residents safe.

Ellerie has deep desires, and for a small price a mystical creature promises her that her wishes will come true. But as Autumn turns to Winter, strange things start to affect the town – such as rotting crops and disfigured animals – and this strains relationships.

Knowing that ‘Small Favors’ is an adaptation of Rumpelstiltskin will, for some readers, help with understanding the direction of the narrative. But, to say that it is simply a re-telling, would be to do a disservice to Erin A. Craig’s latest novel.

Craig’s writing style is immersive, and in a way, the small town setting of Amity Falls – surrounded by a deep and dark, mysterious forest – is a metaphor for how the book envelops its reader with its atmospheric narrative.

Having a large group of characters in a small town setting – each with their own shared subplots – adds to the drama, and actively involves the reader into trying to figure out how everyone is connected.

The pace of the narrative is good as well. Although the book is a fairly long read at 464 pages (at time of writing), the slow-building plot adds tension and will leave its readers with their eyes glued to its pages, with the desire to find out what happens next as Ellerie finds herself in a race against time to save her family, friends and fellow townspeople from the sinister intentions of the mystical creatures.

While some scenes may be sensitive to younger readers – with some violence, and the moralistic battle between desires and favours – ‘Small Favors’ is a brilliant page-turning piece of Young Adult fiction, and a thrilling read.