TRAPPED by Michael Northrop

An incredible nor'easter hits Little River leaving seven high school students and one teacher stranded at Tattawa Regional High School.  Officials schedule an early dismissal hopefully sending students home safely, but each of the remaining seven students has some reason for staying behind.  No one really believes the storm will be as bad as predicted.

Five boys and two girls sit with their teacher watching the snow fall.  As it comes down faster and heavier, they all begin to regret their decisions to stay behind.  When they see what looks to be a snowplow on the highway near the school, the teacher heads out to intercept it.  He disappears in the blizzard and is never seen again.

With cell phone service interrupted by the storm, the students have no way to contact their loved ones so they begin to make the best of what they hope to be a temporary situation.  They gather food from the cafeteria and blankets from the nurse's office.  A transistor radio provides their only connection with the outside world.

The snow piles up passed the windows of the first floor so the group moves to the second story.  When the power goes out and the batteries on the emergency lights eventually run out of power at least they will still have light coming in through the windows.  With no heat left in the old building, they use materials from the shop class supplies to get a fire going in one of the rooms hoping to generate enough heat to melt snow for water and provide a minimum of warmth. 

Now what remains is to stay positive and civil with one another until someone comes to rescue them.  Unfortunately, none of them considered the weight of the snow on the aging building's roof, the tension of being together 24/7, and the tragedy that would happen when one of them tries to go for help.

Considering the massive snowstorms parts of the nation have endured this winter, this book truly hits home.  Author Michael Northrop has created a frightening but intriguing adventure that will spark fear in the hearts of teens.  High school has enough pitfalls without the worry of being hopelessly stranded there with no way to contact the outside world.  TRAPPED is sure to be a success long after the snow melts and spring arrives.