Book Review: Trapped, by Michael Northrop

Wow. The first thought that comes to mind after reading Trapped is, "It moves!" There is never a dull moment, and it reads very quickly.

Trapped is a classic survival story, involving seven teens trapped in their high school during a snow storm. Oh, but this isn't just any snow storm. It snows for about six days straight -- heavy snow -- and buries the school and everything in the town in about 18 feet of snow.

The situation that allows them to all end up in school alone is a bit of a stretch, but just go with it. I work in a high school. This wouldn't happen. But anyway....

I'm not going to go into detail about the challenges that the seven face, because that's the story. Suffice it to say, there are personality issues (of course) and issues involving the storm and the cold.

The characters are realistic teens of different cliques and different backgrounds. Some are friends, but some are outcasts. There isn't much real growth, but our teens do begin to realize that their impressions of each other during a regular school day might not be very accurate.

They are resourceful and sometimes they make bad decisions. Trapped never lets up as they meet one challenge after another. The ending is satisfying, if somewhat difficult. Not everyone will survive (which we learn on page 6, so that's not a spoiler.)

Trapped is short and riveting -- all the ingredients that make it perfect for reluctant readers. The narrator is a boy, and both boys and girls will enjoy Trapped. Northrop puts his teen characters (in all his books) in difficult situations and is a master of realistic characterizations, even if some of the situations are a little extreme.

Published by Scholastic, 2011
Copy obtained from the library
232 pages (qualifies for my Books You Can Read in a Day Challenge!)

Rating: 4/5

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