The Trap

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.

John Smelcer's work has appeared in more than 300 magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly, and he has written over 20 books. His new novel, tentatively titled The Great Death, will be published by Henry Holt in 2008.

“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