The Trap by Steven Arntson

Carl, the brother of Henry's best friend, punches Henry in the nose. This is not too surprising, since Carl is a big bully, but he disappears later that day. Henry finds a book about our subtle selves and recites some numbers before falling asleep. He "awakens" in a spirit form, looking down at his own body. Carl's subtle form finds Henry and says he needs help. Henry wakes up and tells his friends, and they agree to solve the mystery of Carl's disappearance. However, Henry later finds his subtle form is snared in a bear trap, in the middle of a graveyard. It turns out someone is trying to live forever by experimenting on others. Will Henry be the hero or the next victim?

Overall, I enjoyed the book. The idea of subtle forms was interesting, and the characters treated the whole thing as a mystery. They fell asleep at the same time and were able to meet up again in the subtle world. The characters could walk through doors and were indestructible in that world, but their other experiences were fairly normal. The book basically had two realities, but it wasn't too hard to imagine them. The plot also addressed family issues, as parents dealt with unemployment and alcoholism. There was a little bit of racism, but that seemed to be resolved by the end of the book.