Thursday, December 15, 2011

The Maze Runner- James Dashner


Title: The Maze Runner

Author: James Dashner

Format: Soft cover

Source: Purchased new

Rating: 3/5












Goodreads Summary:

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 surrounded 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 have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But 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 buried within his mind.


I cannot decide fully of what I thought of this book. It was a unique idea and the protagonist was from a male’s perspective. The book was dominated by males until Teresa, the only female to ever come to the maze.  I am curious if there were other female’s at the maze before her that simply did not last.
 Thomas was not a character I enjoyed. There was a lot that could have been don e with him but I found him to be really one dimensional.  We don’t get to feel what Thomas is feeling because the author lets us know exactly what is going on and how Thomas is reacting.   So frustrating. Theresa was also a disappointment unfortunately. Dashner also made her very one dimensional. Every mention of her seems to be her looks. We don’t really know who she is and where she came from.  Minho and Chuck are the reason I wanted to finish the book. They added so much to the story.  The twist at the end with Chuck broke my heart.
Why did I still give it three stars after all the things that irritated me about this book? Two words, the ending.  It made the book for me.  The beginning was good, middle dragged and the ending was phenomenal. We get some answers to our questions and see what the world has become outside of the maze. I was also really interested in the flair. I like books with diseases (Maybe because I work in healthcare? This is the best guess I can come up with). I want to read the second book and I will likely read the third to finish the series.  I hope that Thomas becomes the great character I know he can be and I hope we see more of Teresa. I like her sarcasm.  I would recommend this series to someone who wants a quick read, if you know someone who has it, personally I would borrow it. I did not like it enough to contemplate buying the third book in hard cover. This may change.
What did you think? Leave a comment below.

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