Trapped

Trapped is a thrilling hi-lo adventure story for teens. Matt, a 15-year-old in foster care, has to work on a trapline for his abusive foster family. He hates the work but knows he doesn’t have any other option. In fact, a previous foster child went missing without a trace under this family’s care, a fate that Matt knows could become reality if he doesn’t bend to his foster dad’s commands. Matt is counting down the days until he turns 16 and can leave the trapline and this abusive family for good. His plan becomes concrete when he finds a gold nugget worth hundreds of thousands of dollars while out on the trapline. Now Matt, with the gold nugget in his possession, has to find a way to escape his foster dad’s watchful supervision in order to finally experience freedom.

The beauty of Trapped is in its no-holds-barred narrative that keeps the reader guessing as to what will happen next. The vocabulary and sentence structure of the novel are designated for those reading around a Grade 2 level, but the content packs a punch. Matt is on the brink of death several times. His foster mom is an alcoholic. His foster dad admits to murdering another teen in his care. The book feels like it was genuinely written for teenagers, and it balances the low vocabulary and high-interest action with ease. Teens looking to engage with the text won’t feel like they are being talked down to or that content matches the vocabulary level. The pace is fast, and, while there isn’t a lot of space for character building (the novel comes in at under one hundred pages), it is easy to connect to Matt and his quick thinking, and you are rooting for him with every twist and turn. When things go wrong for Matt as he tries to escape, you desperately hope his backup plans will work. Readers interested in outdoor adventure stories or thrillers will not be let down.

At one point in the narrative, Matt has to swim underwater, through a tunnel, and into a beaver dam to save his life. There is an author’s note at the end explaining how yes, this is possible but completely unsafe. It may be worth reiterating with adventurous readers of the book that swimming into a beaver dam is part of this fictional story and not a weekend activity to try! Trapped is a valuable hi-lo addition to any library.