Trapped [Hardcover]

Michael Northrop (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2011

The day the blizzard started, no one knew that it was going to keep snowing for a week. That for those in its path, it would become not just a matter of keeping warm, but of staying alive. . . .

Scotty and his friends Pete and Jason are among the last seven kids at their high school waiting to get picked up that day, and they soon realize that no one is coming for them. Still, it doesn't seem so bad to spend the night at school, especially when distractingly hot Krista and Julie are sleeping just down the hall. But then the power goes out, then the heat. The pipes freeze, and the roof shudders. As the days add up, the snow piles higher, and the empty halls grow colder and darker, the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 7-10-High school sophomore Scotty Weem's narration reveals immediately that he survives southern New England's worst nor'easter ever recorded, but also that others in his group will die. The chilling story begins innocently enough as the snow starts to fall early in the day. When an early dismissal is announced, Scotty and his friends Pete and Jason finagle their way into the shop to work on Jason's project, a go-kart, until their rides come. But they soon find themselves stranded in their rural high school building with five others: pretty Krista and her friend, Julie; thuggish Les; weird Elijah; and one gruff teacher. Their cell phones don't work. Their rides don't show up. The teacher goes for help and never returns. The power goes off. As hours, then days, pass, the water stops, the heat goes off, and they get increasingly hungry, cold, and scared. Readers might speculate about what they should have done, could have done, if stuck in their place, but the author does an admirable job of keeping the tone and plot appropriately sophomoric, i.e., they don't always do the right thing, but do the best they can with knowledge and skills even they recognize are inadequate. The climax is propelled as much by the teens' interpersonal conflicts as by Jason's improbable deus ex machina from the shop. Teens should enjoy reading this survival story with their feet up in front of a toasty fire.-Joel Shoemaker, formerly at South East Junior High School, Iowa City, IA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

It’s a setup just plausible enough to give you chills. A nor’easter, which will ultimately be known as the worst blizzard in U.S. history, sweeps into a rural New England community, trapping seven kids inside their high school for days. Northrop begins with some dark foreshadowing—“Not all of us made it”—which makes the students’ gradual realization of their predicament all the more frightening. First the snow piles up past the windows; then the water pipes freeze; then the roof starts making ominous noises. What begins as a sort of life-or-death The Breakfast Club (there’s the delinquent, the pretty girl, the athlete, and so on) quickly turns into a battle for survival. The book is too short; in many ways, that’s a compliment. Northrop establishes so many juicy conflicts and potential disasters that you long to see them carried out to their full, gruesome potential. Instead, the book ends right when it’s hitting its stride—but there’s no denying that the pages turn like wildfire. Grades 7-10. --Daniel Kraus

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Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1 edition (February 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780545210126
• ISBN-13: 978-0545210126
• ASIN: 0545210127
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (158 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #307,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Northrop's first young adult novel, Gentlemen, earned him a Publishers Weekly Flying Start citation, and his second, Trapped, was an Indie Next List pick and an ALA/YALSA Readers' Choice List selection. His middle-grade novel, Plunked, was named to the New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing in 2012. He is originally from Salisbury, Connecticut, a small town in the foothills of the Berkshire mountains, where he mastered the arts of BB gun shooting, tree climbing, and field goal kicking with only moderate injuries. After graduating from NYU, he worked at The World Almanac and Sports Illustrated Kids, where he was a senior editor from 2000 to 2008. His articles and stories have been published widely.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Chilling, unsettling December 29, 2010

By The Compulsive Reader VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Scotty just wants to go home the Tuesday morning school is canceled due to the snow piling up outside. But his friends Jason and Pete convince him to stay a little longer to work in the shop, just until four o'clock when Jason's dad will pick them up. But the school slowly empties and the storm gets worse, and as the hours stretch into the evening, it becomes clear that no one is coming.

Sevens teens are stuck in the high school in the worst blizzard in a century, and no one knows that they're there. At first, it's not too bad--they have access to plenty of food and they can wait it out. But then the power and the heat go out, and the snow continues to pile higher and higher, compromising the building . The snow has them trapped inside, but even the building isn't safe anymore--will it be too late for Scotty and his friends?

Trapped is one of those gripping and chilling reads that will make you question just how likely you would be able to survive if thrust into the same situation. It's quite a spectacular story of survival, but it's very well-described, showing that Northrop really thought this situation through inside and out. His writing also shows that he really understands teens; the attitudes, the feelings, and the interactions are all done very well, and the emotions and tensions that everyone feels due to their entrapment and despair are all very realistic. Northrop also makes really good use of foreshadowing as Scotty alludes to some fatal consequences of the storm at the beginning of the story, making the book seem a bit foreboding before the snow even really begins to fall. The ending was powerful and abrupt, but it does leave you wondering about the fate of so many people, most of which aren't revealed, or are left up to the reader's imagination. This is a quick, unsettling read that will be easy to get into, but not so easy to leave once you've finished.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great December 26, 2010

By S. Power TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Trapped by Michael Northrop follows a group of seven kids as they are stuck inside their school during a massive snow storm. At first the kids treat the experience like a sleepover, but as the electricity goes out, the pipes freeze and the roof starts to shudder the teens face many difficult decisions.

Trapped is a engrossing adventure novel that teens will enjoy. It is a very fast read that even reluctant readers will feel compelled to finish. The author does a fantastic job creating realistic characters that will speak to teen readers (epically the boys).

Appropriateness: This isn't a book that parents will find upsetting. While there are some gross jokes and gross topics the book is sex and drug free. The romances that do develop are short and uneventful. I would gauge the interest level at 12 and up. The lexile score is 740 putting it at a sixth or seventh grade reading level.

booksyourkidswilllove

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars An average YA thriller January 30, 2011

By Z Hayes HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

"Trapped" begins well, with a sense of foreboding amidst the gloomy winter landscape in a New England town. Seven students find themselves stranded at their high school during a snowstorm - all of their other friends have been picked up or left, but they haven't. Their History teacher leaves to get help but never comes back for them. Like other reviewers have mentioned, there are shades of Stephen King's The Mist (Previously Published as a Novella in 'Skeleton Crew') here. Perhaps this is why I wasn't very impressed by this novel, because King's story made such an indelible impression on me.

The students find their situation increasingly precarious as they tend to their basic needs and then find themselves at the mercy of the hostile weather. I do think this book will appeal to readers, grades 6 and up, because of the relatively short and easy-to-read chapters which contain suspenseful moments, motivating readers to race on to the next chapter. I felt the author could have done a better job at credibly portraying the narrator's voice as a high school teen. The dynamics of the relationship between the seven students was depicted quite well. Ultimately though, I felt kind of disappointed and underwhelmed by the rather weak ending.