The Trap Door

Infinity Ring #3

by Lisa McMann

The multi-platform adventure through time continues! Dak, Sera, and Riq return to the United States and walk immediately into a deadly trap. The year is 1850, and the nation is divided over the issue of slavery. In these dark days, the Underground Railroad provides a light of hope, helping runaway slaves escape to freedom. But the SQ has taken control of the Underground Railroad from within. Now Dak and Sera are left wondering who to trust... while Riq risks everything to save the life of a young boy.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Middle Grade, Time Travel, Historical Fiction, Young Adult

192 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2013

About the author

Lisa McMann lives and writes in the Phoenix area. Her newest middle grade fantasy series is called The Forgotten Five. Book one, Map of Flames, was an instant NYT bestseller. It's about five supernatural kids, raised in a deserted hideout, who enter civilization for the first time to search for a hidden stash left behind by their missing, criminal parents.

Book two, The Invisible Spy, is on sale now! Book three, Rebel Undercover, is coming summer 2023, and book 4 will be out in spring of 2024.

Also out now: CLARICE THE BRAVE. It's a story of hope against all odds, about sibling mice who get separated in a mutiny and vow to find one another again.

Lisa's other books include the NYT bestselling THE UNWANTEDS and UNWANTEDS QUESTS series, the GOING WILD trilogy, the YA paranormal WAKE trilogy, the VISIONS trilogy, CRYER'S CROSS, DEAD TO YOU, and INFINITY RING: The Trap Door.

See what's new and where Lisa will be at her
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You can find more info at Lisa'a website, lisamcmann.com, interact with her on Facebook or Twitter, or ask questions on her Instagram.

Reviews

[CC. Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one is the worst yet in the series. The jokes and dialogue are goofy and ridiculous and the 'secret clues' are just so bad. I am officially giving up on this series.

The topic of slavery is so somber and important, yet is so trite here. There is hardly anything realistic about it. The writing in this one felt boring and formulaic; the characters like cardboard--like a journaling assignment gone on for too long. This is a mixed media book. I wonder how successful they are. Kids in my class don't seem to be rushing for the books, even though they have the element of a video game tied to it. I've never played the online game. Please, to those of you who have, has this made the reading experience better? I wouldn't play the game but I would like to know if this is the reason why the books seem to be lacking in something. Does it enhance the story?

Dak, Serah and Riq land right in the middle of slavery in the south in this installment. That's a problem since Riq is black, and (according to a past cover) Serah appears to be biracial. I am guessing at some of the problems since the author didn't really spell anything out. Riq takes off on his own. For this first time he becomes something like a real character, but very stereotypical. Paradoxically, Dak and Serah seemed like stock characters, losing their personalities and becoming more artificial as the pages went on.

My one favorite character (and the one who I thought might just save the whole series), the Viking giant dog, didn't make much of an appearance. The story desperately needed him!

[Lee McBride · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked "The Trap Door" much better than the previous book. I was a caught off guard a little because the book started after skipping ahead past where the previous book ended. I thought I had missed a book and I had to double check. Once I realized that I did not miss something, I kept reading. This one is set up before the Civil War in the time of the Underground Railroad. It was by far my favorite book so far in the Infinity Ring series and I hope they continue to keep getting better from here.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This installment was pretty good. Interesting to read about an alternate-American history, where the Underground Railway was not a success, due to interference. Some good background/past character development for Riq. Hints of a possible dark future from Sarah.

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are such fun books to read with my kids. I love the way each author is able to keep the characters true to themselves. I also love how each story focuses on an event in history and these young kids have to resolve the breaks in history to restore things to the way they should be.

The adventure and fantasy elements are really engaging for young minds and things move along at a quick enough pace to keep kids' attention.

This story deals with slavery and the issues that arise from prejudices. It especially affects Riq and it's interesting to see how he deals with things.

[Bill Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Book #3 is now my favorite in the series so far.Riq, Dak and Sara time-travel to mid-1800s' Many of the great people of this time period are part and parcel of this adventure. Each of the threesome is impacted in meaningful ways, and have an impact on many themselves. 1850 and 1875 are the two spots where Dak, Sara, and Riq go through many struggles while changing history' Don't miss all the action and Dak's corny jokes.

[Deedeebear3! · Rating 3 out of 5]

so after I read the 2nd book I was like " I'm just gonna do it!" and finished it in three days! and I loved it!

[Iola Nestripke · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was pretty fun to listen to, but a few bits of it were confusing.

[Cy K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Infinity ring is about three kids, Dak, Sera, and a teenage historian named Riq, trying to save the world from disasters that the SQ created. After visiting Columbus and fighting vikings, they find their next adventure in the United States in 1850. From their knowledge of history they know the Underground Railroad is going to fail, Abraham Lincoln isn't going to be president, and the Civil War is going to last for fifteen years. They also know that slavery is a big thing which puts Riq in great danger because he's black. They find a building that looks like a safe house but once they walked in they got trapped. Riq is taken away by slave traders and Dak and Sera find themselves in a sticky situation. Riq escapes with a women who he later figures out that she's his ancestor. Riq has to decide to let her history happen as he knows it or change it but having the chance of writing himself out of existence.

I would recommend this book because it has a lot of suspenseful sense and it is hard to predict certain things giving the book a mysterious aspect as well. For example, I wasn't expecting Riq to get captured and find one of his ancestors. I didn't like how Riq controlled this book and the other two kids didn't really play a big part. I think the book is better when all the characters play an equal amount of time in the book. I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars. The 4 stars came from the mysterious and suspenseful parts of the book. I didn't give the other star because only Riq played a big part in this book and DaK and Sera didn't really do anything. Overall I would recommend this book to any one who is looking for a suspenseful and mysterious book.

[Rafael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Infinity Ring's 3rd book. Infinity Ring series was introduced by The 39 Clues to me. Well. I was attracted with the cover of the first book. I never thought such amazing and stunning cover coudl attract me. Imagine, I was so inclined and so -- that's where I started to read the book. In which, I don't regret. This is new to me comparing it to 39 clues.

You'll love how the authors change the history with their far-fetched mind. I like that. I remember reading this on a convenience store and I couldn't grasp that I ended up finishing this book in one sitting. I hope I can start the next book of this series. College life is a mess. And I hate it. Overall, 4 stars. I would love to continue this series if I have more time on my hands.

[Lemurkat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This instalment was pretty good. Interesting to read about an alternate-American history, where the Underground Railway was not a success, due to interference. Some good background/past character development for Riq. Hints of a possible dark future from Sarah.

Overall, I actually rather enjoyed it.

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set during slavery, Riq gets captured and sold as a slave. Daq & Sera have to work together to rescue him before its too late. After two previous books in the series, the story line is very predictable.

[Kryssy · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books still don’t make much sense. There was only one mention of dak’s parents and it wasn’t even about trying to find them.

I wish we could get more of a crash course of what the history is and what they need to change.

And i STILL have no idea what SQ is. Some bad group but what is their motive? How did this come to know about time travel? So many questions that aren’t answered and i doubt ever will be

- Puzzle is a picture word puzzle
- Dak can’t remember a historic date
- Thinking about family tree
- Telegram where they’re supposed to take every third word
- Riq is put on a wagon of slavers to sell
- Riq is related to the woman he met
- Kissy was supposed to be bought by someone else but since riq is an option, her husband was able to buy his family. Will this affect history and riq’s life?
- Meet a hystorian that will go on to publish and important paper
- Sera fell into the ocean. Almost lost her chain from bill. Now it’s a thousand years old
- Riq being historians to SQ
- Aunt minty is harriet tubman
- The key from dak’s parents might release the shackles
- The sq has the infinity ring
- Sera and dak reach ilsa how to use it by half helping and half making up stuff
- What’s going to happen to riq? Family is free so they won’t be where try needed to be to raise riq’s ancestors
- Sera gives them her necklace to get money
- Go 25 years in the future to check how everyone turned out
- Still a civil war but only 4 years

[Kim Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is my favorite in the series so far. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I know quite a bit about this time period, so there were a lot of things I could see coming. It included one of my all time favorite heroes in here. I also love the fact that, unlike most of the first one, they changed history so it matches what actually happened (with one little exception), and I loved that we got that glimpse into the future.

I was somewhat disappointed in the last few pages of it, but I'm really enjoying the series. I like the ones where I know the history, so I know what happens, but I also like the ones where I don't know the history, because it encourages me to learn more. (I ended up reading a book on the Vikings after the 2nd Infinity Ring book and I loved it.)

My biggest complaint, is that when they jump in time at the end of a book, it doesn't really lead into what the next book is about. We get just a line or two of the break they fix there, and then they move on. I would like to know more about what they do during those jumps. (Like what happened with the French Revolution and what did they fix during the War of 1812.)

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third book in the Infinity Ring series. If you're unfamiliar with it, the books are all written by different authors and included online game codes to do in between. Sadly, the games no longer exist, but the books do explain what was missed.

This third installment has been my favorite so far. I'm not familiar with the author of this one, but I may look her up to see what else she's written now. Our journey through time and space has brought us to 1850 to ensure the Underground Railroad is able to continue its mission. I like that the books are short. It's a great series for kids and adults who don't have a long attention span when reading. But without the follow-up game, it's hard to get excited about continuing. I would love to know more about samurai in Japan. But that's the story that took place in the now deleted game. I have no way of knowing where Dak, Sera, and Riq are heading in book 4 until I read it. So it will likely be put off while I catch up on some other books. But this book has encouraged me to continue on with the series for a little while longer.

[Christy Peterson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolute garbage.

It is ironic that the main characters are trying to undo breaks in history by the "SQ" when the author actually promotes revisionist history as real life fact.

The real life "SQ" keep the general populace unaware of the fact that Virginia law of the time didn't allow slave holders to just release their slaves. People today who don't know this fact, keep smearing the Founders, specifically Jefferson, as hypocrites. Slaves weren't freed at the time of the Constitution because if they were, the southern states wouldn't sign. The Founders put things in place so that eventually the slaves could be freed.

Speaking of Jefferson and "SQ" agents, it was Jefferson's nephew that fathered children with Sally Flemming. This isn't mentioned in this book though, it's just an aside by me.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent fiction about the Underground Railroad. I didn't remember much from all those years ago in school, so before I listened to this book I the short children's book "What Was the Underground Railroad." It was the perfect precursor because it prepared me for all the clues to look for. I particularly enjoyed the family history connection!!

My one complaint about the book was that when it started, they were jumping from 1814 in the White House with Dolly Madison. I was so confused that I had to check to see if I had accidentally skipped a book in the series. was really reading book #3. At the end of this book they "introduce" the next quest in Japan, but book #4 actually takes place with the ancient Mayans. I wish the books were more connected between the beginning and the endings.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a huge step up this one was from the second one!! I flew through this in one sitting. I loved the setting and I also loved the topic and how they dealt with racism. The writing still was a little juvenile for me, but I overall enjoyed this one! Excited to see what the next one is going to be like.

[Christopher Ballard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Within the first 10 minutes of reading this book it felt different. It was as if the characters on a tv show had been replaced with new actors. The humor was forced and flat and far to frequent, and the slavery aspect was seemed to be done poorly. Overall it didn’t fit with the first two books and made me want to skip to the next in the series without finishing.

[Ethan Mickelberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very good book! I enjoyed how it played off the last one and how it started out. It left me wanting to read more and more because of all the suspense. I really got into it once Dak and Sera were trapped and Riq got taken away. It really left me wanting to stay and read. I cant wait to read the next one.

[Chantal O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened with my 11 year old to the audiobook adeptly narrated by Dion Graham. We have really been enjoying this series. One thing we have found confusing is that there are extras breaks that are addressed by the group. There are references in the story to these events, which made us feel like we had missed a book in between, but we hadn't. A good series so far, especially if you like history.

[Norla Chee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fancy spelling of ordinary words took me out of the story while I wondered if there was a purpose. Can be read alone, but this is one where having read Book #1 aznd #2 in the series first would have been helpful. Might go back and read the series, but not dying to, like some series. Do love the premise of time travel.

[Claire Mummert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was confusing at first because they skip one of the breaks and you are left wondering if you missed a book, but you didn't. Another good book in the series. It is so interesting seeing the story develop by the hand of different authors. Really fun.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd just like to remind everyone that this is a juvenile book, therefore we can expect the nasty history of slavery is not brought front and center. It is shown in an age appropriate way. As they get older, they can learn more.

[Teresa Marine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this one - because I live on the eastern Shore I know a lot about Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad...this one gave me insight into how this time period could have looked...and I believe Lisa got it right! Thank you for a sneak peek into this time period.

[Joe Holman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like these books. Taking a piece of history that are messed up and fixing them. I will read the whole series.

[Angela Massengale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Getting better....

[Mary T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, and I thought it was better than the first one -- more action-packed and interesting. I skipped over the second book because I'm not as interested in Vikings.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun series of books that I’m loving.

[Terrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very suspenseful

[Brent Stratton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good story in the Infinity Ring series. A kids story and so it keeps things simple. Would be a good book and series for the 8-14 reader depending on their level.