The Prometheus Project: Trapped is unlike any book that I have ever read. It is a real "thinker's" book, not one full of fluff. It was a quick read and full of educational information throughout the story (how the body works, how the Internet works, figuring out crytograms, etc.). In this story, a family has moved to a small town in Pennsylvania. The children, Ryan and Regan, complain that there isn't anything to do. One day while looking through some boxes in the attic, they overhear their parents talking about their top-secret jobs at Proact. The children decide that they have to find out what is going on, so they head over to the Proact building to check things out. They soon find themselves in over their heads as they come in contact with an alien world! Their mother has been injured and is in danger of dying. Ryan and Regan are soon trapped inside this alien world and must find their way out in order to save their mother's life.

Trapped is science fiction and proposes what it would be like to meet up with technology from another world. Honestly, I found the science behind the technology very interesting, and I have no problem believing there are other worlds out there. However, I would not recommend this book for families who do not believe in aliens or the prospect that there is life in other universes. This book also proposes the idea of time travel, something which I have a difficult time wrapping my mind around. Finally, there is mention of "prehistoric man." Here is the context in which it is written:

Dr. Harris had said current human technology would seem like magic to earlier ages. So what would prehistoric man make of the inside of a house? Would he think a telephone hanging on a wall was art? That a computer was something used for hunting - to throw at animals? What would he make of a microwave oven? He could be in total darkness, searching frantically for some flint to hit together to make a fire.

The book is geared for both boys and girls ages 9-13. I have to say that I enjoyed Trapped very much. It would make a great read-aloud and would foster much talk among families as long as they are aware of some of the themes running through the book.

Product review by Kris Price, Assistant to the Publishers, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, March 2007