The Paradise Trap (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Paradise Trap Kate Quealy-Gainer Jinks, Catherine . The Paradise Trap. Egmont, 2012. [352p]. Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-60684-273-7 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-60684-283-6 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 4-7. Marcus' mom is intent on reliving the magic of her childhood vacations at the ocean, which is why Marcus has been dragged away from his beloved video games to accompany her in a beat-up old trailer to Diamond Beach. The beach turns out to be anything but summery fun-in fact, it is more cement than sand-but when Marcus and his new friend Edison stumble upon an old door in the trailer that inexplicably leads to a cellar, Marcus goes from being bored to being spooked. The cellar leads to a giant amusement park that enchants Edison but tries to kill Marcus (first by suffocation by teddy bear and then by a killer ferris wheel); although Marcus manages to escape, Edison is not so lucky. As Marcus repeatedly tries to return with reinforcements to rescue Edison, the scene behind the door changes each time to represent someone's ideal vacation while containing their doom: Edison's mother sees a luxurious spa, for instance, but its purring cats are murderous. There's a bit of Twilight Zone-like trickery going on here: just when Marcus and his mom think they are safe, the rug is pulled out again and they find themselves in yet another paradise gone awry. The settings are often both hilariously absurd (the spa cats are [End Page 404] both giant and pink) and frightening (they also have very, very sharp claws). The motivation of the villain, a siren who must now lure tourists with ideal vacations after losing her voice, is a bit of stretch, but the snappy pace more than makes up for the somewhat lackluster antagonist as Marcus and his makeshift family battle maniacal clowns, epic tidal waves, and camping vampires. In a refreshing change from the horror genre's typical early dismissal of parental units, Marcus' mom is in on the adventure the whole time to offer support and guidance, making this a spirited and family-friendly tale. Copyright © 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois