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Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Port Moody Public Library.
Mar 28, 2013
Seven students are the last waiting to be picked up from their rural New England high school on the day that a devastating blizzard, bringing massive amounts of snow, begins. By the time they realize that no one will be coming for them, spending the night at the school seems to be the best option. However, the fierce winds and the snow continue into the next day and night, the day and night after that, and for many more days. The power and heat go out; the water pipes freeze and parts of the roof shudder with the weight of the snow, eventually giving way. Food runs out. The situation becomes not one of merely keeping warm, but of staying alive, trapped in the school. Does this sound like a believable plot? It didn’t sound entirely plausible to me. Why couldn’t the students simply leave the school and walk to safety? Could Michael Northrop’s story convince me that such a situation could really happen? It did. I was convinced - and moreover, I was very impressed by this book. The author has been careful to provide logical explanations why the students did not – and later, could not - leave the school. The interactions between the students, their attitudes and the dialogue are skillfully and realistically described, contributing to a sense that the reader is actually trapped in the school with the stranded students. Michael Northrop has created seven realistic teen characters who will speak to teen readers, especially boys. Powerful and unsettling, Trapped is not a “… and they lived happily ever after” tale. Michael Northrop’s book is a gripping survival story, a page-turner which I would highly recommend for both reluctant and enthusiastic readers.