Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Page Count: 384
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.
Review: I picked up The Maze Runner for one reason: I love dystopian fiction. My mom reserved it from the library for me and I was really excited to get it. I hoped that it would live up to my expectations.
It didn’t.
The beginning of the book was really, really boring. I didn’t think that some kid waking up in an elevator and coming into this new world of The Maze could be boring, but I found myself putting the book down and going to do something else to entertain myself. I just wasn’t captivated.
The main character was really annoying. I don’t think I’ve ever met a boy who is so in touch with his feelings. I’m not even kidding; the kid cried about ten times in the book and he wasn’t ashamed at all. I mean, maybe it’s just society’s conditioning that I think that boys shouldn’t cry, but come on! The boy cried more than any girl I know.
I just couldn’t get into the story. That’s not to say that the entire book was completely boring; there were some pretty exciting parts. After about page 300, the story picked up and never slowed down. But once the action started, it seemed like that was what the book was all about. By the end of the book, I wasn’t attached to the characters; I just wanted to finish it and see what happened.
I will say one thing: the epilogue was good. The ending seemed really rushed, but the epilogue kind of made up for it.
Overall, I didn’t hate The Maze Runner, but I didn’t really like it either. I couldn’t get into the story and the characters never really made me care about them. I’m not sure if I’ll be picking up the sequel to this book, but I definitely know I won’t be wasting my money on.
I must say, I’m kind of surprised. I’ve heard rave reviews about this book, but it seems like most books that the general public seems to adore (i.e. Shiver) don’t seem to gel with me as much.
Rating: 2/5 stars
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