Source: Bought
Scotty Weems and his friend, Pete, are talked into staying after school by their friend Jason, who wants to show them his go-kart project. Unfortunately, it's started snowing heavily, and they're going to miss the last buses leaving at 1:30. Still, Jason's dad has a truck, and, really, how heavily could it snow? But by 5, about 3 feet of snow have buried the road, and they and four other students are waiting in the hallway, watching more and more snow come down. When a truck stalls on the way up the school driveway, the teacher staying with the students decides to brave the snow to get help. Once he's gone, the seven realize they're on their own, that Mr. Gossell probably won't come back.
Although the thought of having the entire school to themselves is pretty cool at first (since one guy, Les, is a hooligan and can bust open any door, including the door to the cafeteria), things begin to get a little hairy as soon as the power fails, and the heat with it. Plus, when they wake up the next morning, stiff from a night on tile floor, it's clear that this storm is like no other, because only two feet of the ten-foot windows are clear, and it's still snowing. As the storm progresses, it becomes more and more dangerous to be inside the school, as the roof begins to give under the weight of the snow, and the snow climbs even higher. The students have to work together in order to make it, until rescue finally arrives.
I read this book by candlelight, after another nor'easter dumped five inches of wet snow on Northern Virginia. So I was cold and hungry (no microwave, after all), and it was the perfect read for the time. To me, five inches seems like a fair bit of snow, so I couldn't even comprehend what a foot-an-hour of snow would even look like. Basically, the plot was simple: seven teens trying not to freeze. The story could have been dull, especially since they didn't have to really fight to survive until the last 50 pages or so. But the tension between the characters kept the story interesting. It's high school, after all, and cliques will be cliques. There was some sexual tension (girls make everything more complicated), plus there was the weird kid Elijah, and Les, who's scary as hell to anyone with sense, and the three average Joe's.
It was interesting to see the cliques disappear as everyone worked together, and then reform as they got sick of each other and frustrated with being stuck there. Plus, Pete and Julie kept sneaking off together, no one can find out if their families are OK, and Scotty wants Krista, the really hot girl, to like him, but feels like a moron in front of her. I also liked how the situation caused them to all see each other in a different light. For example, the freak, Elijah, actually has a sense of humor, and Les isn't quite as scary as he seems, he just resents authority. Plus, Scotty finds the courage to talk to Krista.
Then, it turns into a survival story, which was harrowing to read. As the roof begins to give, it becomes imperative that they get word to someone that they are there, meaning someone has to risk leaving. Which leads to a somewhat expected, but still well-done, ending. This was the part I wasn't too happy with-the ending was really abrupt. I liked that it involved Scotty really coming into his own as a sort of accidental hero, but there wasn't enough information on how the experience affected everyone in the story in the long-term, and how the school returned to normal, which bugged me, because I wanted to know.
What I did like was the way the story was told, from Scotty's perspective. I felt like a teenager was speaking, without it being over-the-top (as in, constant slang), and the things that popped into his mind worked well (I hope my mom's OK, I can't believe I left my phone at home, Krista's so pretty, I really feel weird now that I haven't checked my email in 3 days, etc.). I also liked that Scotty tended towards self-reflection at times, like when he considered it amusing that it bothered him so much to think over all the things that he could be doing in his online games. I liked that, even though he's a jock, he's smart enough to think about the events going on around him. This worked nicely, considering he's our narrator-he tends to notice more than perhaps Pete or Elijah would have noticed.
Basically, it was a quick and pretty intense read, but not the best thing I've ever read. I enjoyed Scotty's telling the story, and the story was cool, but I thought the ending was way too abrupt (at 232 pages, there was room to continue a little). Mr. Northrop has another novel out, Gentlemen, which I hope to read soon, having read the Book Smuggler's review, which is how I heard about Trapped in the first place. I definitely plan to check it out.
Grade: 3.5/5
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