In short: Lauren Oliver has written another truly lovely and whimsical Middle Grade novel that can be enjoyed by all age groups. 
 After reading and loving Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver, I knew I needed to read The Spindlers, Lauren Oliver's second Middle Grade novel. Liesl and Po was a wonderful and whimsical story filled with cartoonish and memorable characters, and The Spindlers was no different. When Liza's brother's soul is stolen by the Spindlers, she goes Below to rescue it. Bold and brave, Liza comes up against some tricky tasks that she must solve along the way as well as some truly imaginative and quirky creatures and settings, all beautifully described with Lauren Oliver's signature fantastical prose. 
 If I had any critique for The Spindlers, it's that it was very reminiscent of other works, particularly Coraline by Neil Gaiman, but also Roald Dahl novels and Hayao Miyazaki films. It had so many of the same elements of these other works that at times, The Spindlers came across as cliched and predictable. I don't actually mind it when authors turn to these well known story arcs because they are beloved for a reason, but ideally I'd like to see said author present something new and original to set it apart from the masses and I'm not sure Lauren Oliver accomplishes that with The Spindlers. 
 BUT - and I would like to stress this - please don't take that one critique as an indication that I didn't enjoy The Spindlers. I loved The Spindlers. Really. It was just as lovely and wonderful as I have come to expect from all of Lauren Oliver's novels. And perhaps it's a bit unfair to call it predictable when I am an adult and this book is meant for children who probably wouldn't see it as being cliched at all. So I would definitely recommend The Spindlers for the age group that it is meant for. And I would absolutely recommend it for older audiences who love quirky and fantastical MG reads, as well.