Book Review: Trapped in the Tunnel by Katrina Hoover Lee 

Rating: Needs Minor Parent Supervision (I would suggest parental discussion)

Reading Level: Mid-Elementary, Late Elementary

Possible Concerns: 

• Amputated leg. The narrator of the book, Gary, had his leg amputated a few years ago and has a wooden leg.  He deals with ongoing frustration because of this and a lot of questions about why this was necessary. 
• Suicide/Murder jokes. When there’s a bad smell coming from the house next door, the boys wonder if someone was murdered there or if someone committed suicide (both mentioned only very briefly). 
• Peril. A little intense; my 8yo and 9yo were fine, but my 7yo was scared when the boys were trapped in the tunnel. 
• Alcohol. The father mentions feeling distrustful of people who teach kids bad habits.  His concern turns out to be that the person in question was drinking a beer while talking with his son.  This isn’t a big concern for me but worth mentioning since families have different values when it comes to drinking at all, drinking in front of kids, etc. 
• Keeping Secrets from Parents. The kids keep secrets from their parents (but later realize that this was a bad idea; see below). 

Things I Liked: 

• Family talking through the fruit of the Spirit together and focusing on “love”, looking for ways to show love to other people or noticing the way love is shown to them. 
• Great family dynamics between brothers and between kids and parents 
• Kids keep secrets from their parents but feel guilty about it and realize at the end that doing so put them in danger and that telling their parents what was going on would have been the wiser course of action. 
• The kids realize that first impressions aren’t always correct.  The people they thought were bad or untrustworthy actually aren’t, and the people who impressed them (by having cool possessions) weren’t morally good. 
• Gary prays for God’s help when they’re trapped in the tunnel, and he thinks through how his parents have emphasized having a real relationship with God and not just using Him like a “spare tire” to get you out of trouble or when you’re having big problems. 
• Overall, I liked how they presented faith in God without sounding preachy or didactic. 

Overall, my family really enjoyed this book and we’re all looking forward to continuing with the series (there are nine books).  My understanding is that each book will focus on a particular fruit of the Spirit.