Trapped

Northrop, Michael. Trapped. Scholastic Press (2011). ISBN 978-0-5452-1012-6

Plot Summary

                Scotty Weems is a sophomore in high school.  He is at school one day when it starts to snow.  He doesn’t think much of it as it’s not really falling very hard.  Once they realize that it’s going to be a bad storm, the school is let out for the day.  Parents pick up their kids but Scotty and his friends, Pete and Jason, were supposed to be picked up by Jason’s dad, who never shows.  Four other students remain along with one teacher.  As time drags on, they realize that no one will be able to make it to the school anytime soon and resign themselves to a night in the school.  Little do they know, they’ll be spending many more nights in the school than they thought – or so Scotty’s narration fills us in on.  He also states early on that one of their group will die by the end. 

                As several days go by, things are looking worse and worse.  They are able to find enough food to last, but the heat stops working followed by the running water.  Soon they are using a bucket for a bathroom and keeping a small controlled fire in a classroom for warmth.  Once the roof caves in from the weight of the snow, something must be done to hasten their rescue.  This is where the casualty takes place forcing Scotty to step up and, using his homemade snow shoes, he travels toward town in search of help.  He eventually collapses, nearly dead, before he finds anyone, only to wake up in a helicopter.  Scotty tells the men that there are students at the school and that is where the book ends.

Critical Evaluation

                I enjoyed how this book was structured.  Scotty narrates from the future.  He gives very cryptic messages to the reader, like the whole thing about someone dying, and then proceeds to tell the story from the beginning.  The kids seemed very survival oriented.  They did things I’m not sure I would have thought to do.  They knew how to break locks and find the best place to stay.  Once the windows on the first floor were covered with snow, they went up to the second floor.  It was also warmer up there.  Then, once the bathrooms were useless because of the frozen pipes, they each agreed that a bucket would have to do.  Perhaps being in that situation makes people do things they wouldn’t normally do. 

                This book really makes the reality of what these sorts of situations can be like real.  It’s not surprising that some of the students turn on each other and end up fighting.  Volatile situations, combined with strong personalities, makes for very contentious possibilities.  I felt that the students reacted in a normal way when presented with the challenges.  It was a little convenient, like I mentioned, that they happened to have someone who knew how to break locks.  And it was convenient that Scotty knew how to make somewhat adequate snowshoes.  But other than that, this book is an excellent read.  It’s so gripping it won’t take anyone long to read this as they’ll have trouble putting it down.

Reader’s Annotation

Here’s the story of what it would actually be like to be stuck in the school during a blizzard – the reality may surprise you.

Author’s Information

Michael lives in NYC and has written several books.  Trapped  was named an ALA/YALSA Readers’ Choice List selection, an Indie Next List pick, and a Barnes & Noble “Must-Read for Teens.”  Read his blog and find out more about his books here: http://michaelnorthrop.net/.

Genre

Adventure

Book Talking Ideas

I’d lead with getting stuck at the school during a huge blizzard and how some might have imagined that happening before.  The kids have to quickly grow up and think about ways of survival.  This may get the kids thinking about what they would do to survive.  And, one of the students doesn’t make it out alive.  How’s that for a chilling piece of information?

Reading Level/Interest

12/14

Challenge Issues

There is some language in this book.  The book does get kind of frightening on the later days stuck in the school.  Other than just the scary aspects of the story, this book probably won’t be challenged much.

Why Include This Title?

I included Trapped because of the twisted story of what everyone, at one time or another, imagines what it would be like to be stuck somewhere during a storm.  It’s not all fun and games, running around the school and being crazy.  It’s unlike any story I’ve read before, so it got included.