Trapped in the Tunnel

Title: Trapped in the Tunnel
Author: Katrina Hoover Lee
Series: The Brady Street Boys, book 1
Major Themes: Indiana, Mysteries
Synopsis: The Fitzpatrick boys do not want to move away from their home beside the river, but how can they persuade their parents to stay when scruffy people are coming around and strange things are happening next door?

I have read most of Katrina Hoover Lee’s books, and really enjoyed them, so when she asked for beta readers for her new children’s book series, I was excited to help her out! We ended up just reading Trapped in the Tunnel for review, though. I read it aloud to my boys, and they kept begging for another chapter. We knew from the title that the boys would find the tunnels they heard about—but how? And how would they get trapped? How would they get out? We had to keep reading to find out!

Terry, Gary and Larry Fitzpatrick loved growing up in their house along a river in Northern Indiana. They were horrified that their parents were thinking about moving to Iowa because of the scruffy people that they had seen going into the abandoned house next door—how could the boys convince their parents to stay? Meanwhile, they find many ways to occupy themselves. They build a bike jump, which only Terry can use because Gary has an artificial leg and Larry has bad asthma . . . and Terry gets hurt. They go to the library to research something that an antique dealer was asking about . . . and run into the scruffy man who smells awful. They sneak into the abandoned house at night . . . and that scruffy man shows up.

Mom has a project for the boys to work on this summer, too. She wants them to learn about the Fruit of the Spirit. This first week, they are supposed to think about love. Who do they see showing love? What can they do to show love? What symbol can they draw to stand for love? The answers to those questions surprise them!

Trapped in the Tunnel is a delightful adventure story. Set in the 1980s, there is no technology such as we’re used to now. The three boys have a lot more freedom than most children do today, and are allowed to do things like row a boat up the river to go to the library. I loved the way they interacted with each other, and the lessons they learned about relating to their parents. This is a beautiful story of family life, as well as a fun, fairly gentle adventure. I highly recommend this book for boys and girls who love a good story.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

No warnings!

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