Trapped by Michael Northrop – A Blizzard, Seven Stranded Students, and Teenage Hormones, Book Review

A relentless snowfall Tuesday morning prompts an early dismissal at Tattawa Regional High School in a rural New England town. Seven students (five second-year boys and two first-year girls) waiting for a ride home soon realize that no one is coming to their rescue. When will they meet? How are they going to persevere? Will they all be found alive? That is the premise of Caughtwritten by young adult author, Michael Northrop.

Sophomore Scotty Weems narrates the group’s ordeal.

It soon becomes Survival of the Fittest. Students raid their lockers for items to secure their entrapment, including sweatshirts, gym clothes, and Oreos snack packs. “Any trades or exchanges would be done between friends. I guess that’s when we started keeping secrets,” says Scotty.

Two of Scotty’s friends, Pete Dubois and Jason Gillispie, are among those stranded. Scotty describes Pete as a normal sophomore who wasn’t super hip or incredibly smart. Jason spends limited daylight in the Industrial Arts room working on his go-kart project called, flamenwerfer (german for flamethrower).

Students endure dead cell reception; sleeping on cold, hard tile floors; use bathrooms with pipes that will soon freeze; and corridors of forty degrees.

As their nightmare continues, the clan brazenly decides to break into the cafeteria to quench their hunger. Among his finds are canned peaches in heavy syrup, pudding, and a half-pint of white and chocolate milk.

Scotty is torn between obeying unseen authority and accepting the group’s cafeteria robbery plan. He fears that the robbery will affect his position on the school basketball team.

Caught it illustrates how people can be perceived differently, depending on the situation. During school hours, the stranded student, Les Goddard, is known as a bully and is often subject to detention. However, he proves invaluable as a locksmith, able to break into desirable areas, including the cafeteria and the nurse’s office. “The day before, I was afraid to be around Les,” says Scotty.

Ingenuity reigns as students use blankets from the nurse’s office and a battery-operated radio to listen for weather updates.

Adolescent hormones heighten the students’ experience, as Scotty finds himself attracted to freshman Krista O’Rea: “Just that morning, I spent about twenty quality minutes staring at the back of her head on the bus, speechless and possibly drooling”. Pete and Julie Anders, Krista’s best friend, also sneak out in the dark to kiss.

Contemporary references to reality star Snooki and singer Lady Gaga complement the young adult narrative.

Yeah, Caught It is written for a young audience. Regardless of his age, you will find yourself wondering how he would act in similar conditions, perhaps stranded at his workplace or at a civic group meeting.

Northrop’s well-written narrative and surprise ending are authenticated. Caught’s keys.

To discover other bestselling young adult authors and to read the full list of 2012 Teen Choice Book of the Year nominees, visit: http://www.teenreads.com/2012-teen-choice-book-of-the-year- nominees.