The Columbus Metropolitan Library offers recommendations by the librarians on its web site and that was how I heard of The Trap.
Johnny Least-Weasel knows that his grandfather Albert is a stubborn old man who won’t stop checking his own traplines, even though other men his age stopped doing so years before. But Albert Least-Weasel has been checking his 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, and with the temperature steadily plummeting, Johnny must decide whether to trust his grandfather or his own instincts.
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.Â
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.