Trapped: Review

Title: Trapped

Author: Michael Northrop

Release Date: February 2011

Published By: Scholastic

Pages: 240

Goodreads Rating: 3.24 stars

Review: Scotty is one of seven kids trapped in school when a snowstorm turns into a seven-day blizzard. At first it doesn't seem that bad, especially with his two best friends as well as two hot girls among the group. But then they lose power, and with that, the heat. Soon the situation is more serious than they ever could have expected, and as the pipes freeze and the roof shudders beneath the weight of the snow, they become forced to make a devastating decision.

What first attracted me to TRAPPED was how unique the plot idea seemed. I've always enjoyed survival stories set to a modern day background, so I was excited to start this novel. While this book definitely had its flaws, I was not disappointed, especially by the plot. It advanced at just the perfect pace to explore the emotions of the characters without losing the suspense inherent to the story.

And speaking of the characters, each one was perfectly developed and well-written. The cast was realistic and honest, with everyone sounding and acting like a normal teenager dealing with a heavy situation. Scotty in particular was an excellent protagonist, grappling with the issues at hand while still having flaws like any other human being in the world.

What did bother me, though, was the abrupt ending. I had been reading along, engrossed in the story, and all of a sudden it just seemed to... stop. There wasn't really much of a resolution, and I never really got to find out how things got wrapped up. Was Scotty's mother okay? What happened to the kids next? Was the town able to rebuild? It was like the strings were cut loose with no follow up.

Overall, TRAPPED was an excellent read full of survival and suspense, as well as a good dose of contemporary-esque emotion to temper the apocalyptic feel. I found myself enraptured in this novel, burying myself in the story without the ability to stop until the very end. Although the end itself did actually bother me, the rest of the story was good enough to make up for it. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes a good survival story.