The Trap

by John Smelcer

Overview

Seventeen-year-old Johnny Least-Weasel knows that his grandfather Albert is a stubborn old man and won't stop checking his own traplines even though other men his age stopped doing so years ago. But Albert Least-Weasel has been running traplines in the Alaskan wilderness alone for the past sixty years. Nothing has ever gone wrong on the trail he knows so well. When Albert doesn't come back from checking his traps, with the temperature steadily plummeting, Johnny must decide quickly whether to trust his grandfather or his own instincts. Written in alternating chapters that relate the parallel stories of Johnny and his grandfather, this novel poignantly addresses the hardships of life in the far north, suggesting that the most dangerous traps need not be made of steel.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312377557
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	12/26/2007
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.63(w) x 8.34(h) x 0.41(d)
Lexile:	1100L (what's this?)
Age Range:	11 - 14 Years

About the Author

John Smelcer's work has appeared in more than 300 magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly, and he has written over 20 books. His novel The Great Death was published by Henry Holt in 2009.

Editorial Reviews

An unforgettable story. Brilliant!” —Ray Bradbury

“In THE TRAP, John Smelcer takes his readers into a frozen world, and keeps us there with a gripping example of talented storytelling. Unforgettable.” —Tony Hillerman

“THE TRAP is a lovely story, beautifully told, the kind that makes you wade in and sink warmly into the cold, cold north of Alaska.” —Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump

“First novelist John Smelcer takes readers to the Alaskan Arctic Circle for an unforgettable survival tale.” —The Horn Book

From the Publisher

Gr 6-9-Johnny Least-Weasel worries that his grandfather hasn't returned home from checking his trapline. The elderly Indian packed ample supplies onto his snowmobile, but has been out far too long in the plummeting temperatures of the Alaskan winter. Cultural pride and reluctance to disrespect an elder get in the way of search plans until Johnny's grandmother can wait no longer, and she sends him out to find her husband. Only readers know that Albert Least-Weasel has caught his leg in a trap, several feet away from his supplies, and is unable to free himself. Chapters alternate between Albert's dilemma and Johnny's failed attempts to raise concern among his uncles, creating a suspenseful page-turner in which the old man's survival becomes a race against time. Albert's wilderness skills are sharp and described in detail, such as fending off wolves with a spear made from a cedar branch and creating a rabbit snare from a shoelace. Excerpts from a folktale about a warrior named Blackskin appear at the beginning of each chapter, illustrating how present-day life for the Least-Weasel family is still the same, in many ways, as it was for their ancestors. A great addition to survival/adventure collections or Native American fiction.-Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Readers will be clinging to the pages of this graceful, haunting story about a 17-year-old Alaskan Indian searching for his lost grandfather, and about the grandfather trying to survive in the freezing wilderness. Old Albert Least-Weasel still maintains his trap lines, still going out alone, when he finds himself caught in one of his traps. Johnny, his grandson, helps his grandmother and works at his job while worrying about the old man. Smelcer tells their stories in alternating chapters, building suspense as time runs out for Albert. Meanwhile, Johnny reflects on the tiny, dying town in which he finds himself trapped. How rare to find lyrical writing combined with real suspense. Smelcer accentuates the humanity of his characters as he reveals how the strengths of their ancestors survive in these modern people. Equally memorable and enjoyable for children, teens and adults. A small masterpiece. (Fiction. 10+)

Kirkus Reviews