Review: Trapped by Michael Northrop

Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: January 1st, 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....

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

I grew up exactly between Buffalo and Rochester, NY and when I found out there was a YA book coming out about a bunch of kids stranded at school, with no adults, in an epic blizzard, I knew I HAD to read it. I mean, where else gets more snow? I have first-hand experience going to school in snowstorms that would shut other places down for days; not taking blizzards seriously because "it's just a little snow". I figured that I could easily see if this was a far-fetched thing of something that could happen, and I have to say... I could totally see this happening.

This book was so much better than I expected. I almost didn't read it because it's average rating on Goodreads was a little more than three stars, and I typically don't pick it up if GR has it at fewer than 3.5-4 stars. Well, I am not sure why the lower ratings because I thought this book was very good. It took me two days to get through the first five chapters, but then I had to read the rest in one sitting. I liked the characters (even though a couple weren't really very likable), and I thought they were well-developed enough. In this tale, I really didn't see a need for more character development. The plot was pretty well paced. There were a few places where it was a little slow, but even those were only a couple of pages long. Overall, the story was so good that putting this down was not an option. I just had to know what was going to happen next, which brings me to my only gripe about this book (and the reason it's getting four stars instead of five)... The ending sucked. I'm not going to spoil it, but I will tell you that there were way too many unanswered questions for my liking. Of the seven kids that were trapped in the school, we only find out out the fates of two. The other five? A total mystery.

Overall, I really liked this book. It kept me turning pages, and I think it was just realistic enough. I will definitely read another book by this author.

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Grade Level Recommendation: This book is clean as far as elements such as sex, language, adult situations, drinking/drug use, and violence are concerned. There is a death of at least one major character and the assumed death of several minor characters. There are some realistic, scary situations but nothing I think a 3rd or 4th grader wouldn't be able to handle. Maybe younger students in the Northeast should wait a little longer. :) Final opinion: 3rd grade+ (ages 8+).

Look for the following reviews later this week.  Happy Reading!