Review: The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Published by Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers

Genre: YA dystopian

$9.99 (US paperback)

374 pages

What it's about:



When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse enclosed by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them, open. Every night they are closed tight. And that every 30 days a new boy is delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. Only the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets that are buried within his mind.

My thoughts:
I've seen this book around a lot the last couple of years and hear everyone talk about how awesome it is, yet I never bothered to pick up a copy and see what it was about. Then last week when I was doing my volunteer shift at the library and the librarian freaked out and said "ARIEL! How have you not read the Maze Runner  yet?!?!?!" Knowing the librarian, I knew she'd never let me hear the end of it until I read the book. I picked up a copy and read it in two sittings. It was that good.

I know that I hate it when every single dystopian book is compared to Hunger Games, because most of the time the books are nothing like HG, but Maze Runner really does have a lot in common with HG. Well, it has a lot of the same feel because the poor kids are put in this horrible situation that is life or death and they just  have to deal with it. Reading about the kids dying in horrible ways and how it forces them to grow up sickens and disgusts me, but I can't help but love those books. Plus this one has a lot of mystery surrounding everything and asks a ton of questions. What is the Maze? What is WICKED? Why can't the kids remember anything besides their names? What in the world is going on????  These questions just about drive you crazy and make it impossible to put down the book for any length of time.

I loved how MR had a boy for the mc. That doesn't seem to happy very often and every time it does, I always get excited. I like seeing things from the opposite sex's POV because it's nothing like seeing it from a girls pov.

I don't really know what all to say about this book without giving anything away, I'd hate to give away spoilers to this book. The only complaint I had at first about this book is the weird slang that the boys created. I found them saying klunks, shanks, ect. all the time very annoying, but I got used to it and it didn't bother me after about half the book. After finishing MR, I immediately picked up the next book in the trilogy, The Scorch Trials, and am already half way through it. I already adore this series.