The Trap

Reading this immediately put me in mind of the Jack London story "To Build a Fire." In this though, the Alaska Native characters understand and respect the snow and cold, and that added an extra dimension. The writing is descriptive and plain-spoken but at times poetic. How can one not appreciate lines like "The years had been catching up with him, not slowly like the ticking second hands of his old wind-up wristwatch, but in great leaps like spawning salmon jumping waterfalls." Quietly terrific and literary.

This novel is about an old man who is on his way home from a hunting trip and accidentally gets his leg caught in one of this own traps. It accounts his struggle to survive and his grandson's journey to rescue his grandfather. This story is set in an Alaskan winter, adding to the threat of the grandfather's life and also the worry of Johnny back at the village.

As far as a survival story goes, this novel wasn't very captivating. Although the level of danger to the grandfather, Arthur, was quite high, I wasn't able to empathise with the character because I think that the style of writing, and some of the things that were mentioned distracted from the main plot.

Overall, in my opinion, the premise of the plot initially seemed very show more interesting, and reading the synopsis on the back of the book, I was intrigued. However, reading this book all the way through was difficult for me despite how short it is due to the plot going on a lot of tangents, telling the readers stories of the Indians surviving cold winters and older traditional tales that the author put in the narration in very unusual places, breaking up the flow of the main plot.

We, as readers, didn't really get to know any of the characters very well and I feel that they could have been developed a lot more. Johnny is a 17 year old boy and apart from his love of reading and school, you don't really get to know a lot about him as a person. Likewise, the grandparents were not described very much either, although the grandfather, Arthur, was shown the most through his struggle and his attitude, which made him, overall, a strong character.

The writing was something that I absolutely loved in this novel, and was the main reason I kept on reading. Smelcer's beautiful fluid descriptions of the Alaskan landscape and the pain that Arthur is going through adds to the cold atmosphere of the novel and really helps you visualise the environment in which these characters live.

Overall, I would give this book a 3 out of 5 stars because the wonderful writing made up for a lot of the negative opinions I have towards the plot and underdeveloped characters. show less

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.

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.

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.