The Maze Runner

MINI REVIEW

Title: The Maze Runner

Author: James Dashner

Date Finished: April 21, 2010

Personal Book Count: 19 out of 100

Rating: 4 out of 5

Genre/ Subject: young adult dystopian fiction

First Line: He began his new life standing up, surrounded by cold darkness and stale, dusty air.

Why did I pick this book?: a lot of buzz around the internet.

Summary and Review: description taken from goodreads.com -

“When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. He has no recollection of his parents, his home, or how he got where he is. His memory is black. 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 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, for as long as they could remember, the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night, they’ve closed tight. Every thirty days a new boy is delivered in the lift. And no one wants to be stuck in the maze after dark.
The Gladers were expecting Thomas’s arrival. But the next day, a girl springs up—the first girl ever to arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. The Gladers have always been convinced that if they can solve the maze that surrounds the Glade, they might be able to find their way home . . . wherever that may be. But it’s looking more and more as if the maze is unsolvable.
And something about the girl’s arrival is starting to make Thomas feel different. Something is telling him that he just might have some answers—if he can only find a way to retrieve the dark secrets locked within his own mind.”

I tend to go on and off dystopian novels, but this one I LOVED! It was fast paced (it felt like there was a new twist every couple pages). I think this one would be good for boys or reluctant readers. The part that I would say frustrated me way that I felt that NO questions were being answered. I know it was a ploy to keep me reading, but in the beginning I felt it went overboard. I would have liked SOME information. I felt the main characters development was believable. He didn’t go from zero to hero. It was more of a 2 steps forward, one step back process. It made the story relatable. And a warning to readers, it is a nice self contained book, if you don’t read the epilogue. If you do, just be prepared to crawl the walls for a while, as the sequel isn’t scheduled for release until October 2010. What on earth are we going to do until then? =D

Agree? Disagree? Recommendations? Any insights, suggestions, or comments on the book or format, or blog at all are most welcome. If you have read this and/ or review it yourself, please let me know. Can you think of any books like this? Give me a recommendation! =D