The Columbus Metropolitan Library offers recommendations by the librarians on its web site and that was how I heard of The Trap.

The chapters alternate between Albert and Johnny. Johnny is around seventeen years old and is faced with the dilemma of trusting his instincts and listening to his elders. He recognizes he will have to decide whether or not to use his instincts later when deciding what to do about his future but the cold winter dictates a quick decision.

The reader gets caught up in the story and wants a happy ending. Details make it easy for the reader to imagine how cold it is. It can get quite cold in Ohio but never -60. Smelcer uses many interesting facts throughout the story such as different coping methods for getting transportation to start when it’s cold. Though the novel is geared towards a teenage audience, it’s appropriate for adults too.

Full review available at http://www.amberstults.com/?p=1444. ( )

Thought this was an excellent read.

This is the story of Johnny Least-Weasel and his grandfather Albert who are Native Americans living in Alaska. When Albert doesn't come home from checking his traplines, the responsibility of finding him falls on Johnny. The characters in this book are multifaceted and the situations are very dramatic. This book is the perfect subject for a book discussion on themes such as survival in the wild, family relationships and responsibilities, Native American culture, and tradition versus change. ( )

I am fine with depressing books, but this book is not only depressing but tedious and boring. The characters were dull and uninteresting and the constantly falling temperatures just wasn't enough to make this book suspenseful and gripping. ( )

Hard Arctic life dooms

man in steel trap. Can grandson

free him? Slow-moving.

The Trap is another BBYA top ten book. This book rotates back and forth between Albert and his grandson Johnny. Albert is setting traps in the Alaskan wilderness. His snowmobile is fully loaded with supplies. Albert has been doing this work for years. This time, however, he steps into his trap. He is just inches too far away to make use of the supplies on his snowmobile and the temperature is dropping. Albert will need to utilize all of his wilderness survival skills to survive long enough for Johnny to rescue him. Johnny, however, is having trouble convincing his uncles of the need to look for Albert. After all, Albert is the smartest man Johnny knows and he has been setting traps for longer than Johnny has been alive. This fabulous survival story sits on shelves very nicely next to Hatchet and Far North. It has the added advantage of showing teens a different look at the diversity within Indian culture. Fabulous story telling and a must buy for both middle school and high school libraries!

This riveting story of man against the elements, set in the Alaskan wilderness, is written in chapters that alternate between the voice of an aging trapper and his teenage grandson. Caught in one of his own traps as the weather begins to drop further and further below freezing, the grandfather struggles to survive, while his wife and grandson worry as the days pass and he does not return home. This is a short book, but very well done. A great one to read when your book report is due tomorrow! Suggested by Helen. ( )

A very well-written taut suspense/adventure story about a trapper in the frozen north, caught in his own trap, trying to survive until he is rescued. ( )

Albert Least-Weasel has been a trapper for most of his eighty years, but today is the first time he has ever experienced the terrible grip of one of his traps on his own leg. Now he is a prisoner of those cold steel jaws and the temperature in the Alaskan wilderness is beginning to plummet. Meanwhile, Albert’s grandson Johnny is at home in the village, nagged by a suspicion that something is wrong. Shouldn’t his grandfather have been back by now? And would going out to look for him be the brave or foolish thing to do? Told in alternating chapters between grandfather and grandson, this suspenseful tale of survival and bravery will be the perfect match for fans of Gary Paulsen and Jack London. ( )

BRRR! The descriptions of being trapped in the Alaskan winter are bone chilling. Johnny Least-Weasel is a teenager. His grandfather, Albert, has gotten stuck in one of his own hunting traps. There is a lot about the culture. I was impatient with Johnny when it took him SO long to take action. Smelcer has included some vivid descriptions about Indian life in rural Alaska. ( )