Trapped in Death Cave was one of my favorite adventure reads as a kid. My middle school self loved the similarities to The Goonies (hidden treasure, caves, and bad guys). As an adult rereading it, I did find that I was surprised I didn't pick up on the villain as young reader. There really should have been more townspeople to make it less predictable as to who the killer was. Beyond that, the book is a great adventure read for middle grade readers. ( )

The "About the Author" note at the end of the book says that Bill Wallace is a teacher who wrote the story to entertain his fourth graders. It's written in storyteller vernacular style with short sentences and sentence fragments galore. That can be annoying to read on the page, but I'm sure the pacing works well for read-alouds. Readers might have trouble with the heavy accents and dialect, however. The story's plot is a bit over the top, but since it has lots of suspense and lots of action, it should hold the attention of a fourth-grade class. The protagonists are both boys, if that matters, but for quite a bit of the action they're joined by a feisty old lady who can hot-wire a motorcycle and ride it like a maniac. ( )

I've had this book for 30 years and finally decided to read it. It's quick and easy for a younger reader. I'm not a fan of the vernacular... growing up during the time in the setting... we didn't talk quite that bad.

Good read for 10-12 year olds. ( )

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