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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Uhm... I didn't hate this book but you know, that was a LOT. I rarely say this but the movie was better than the book. Here I said it.
First of all, the characters are very annoying. Their only personality trait is either ; I'm this secretive "dark" and mysterious dude who hates everyone but talks a lot. Or even better ; I'm a background character with less than ten lines.
They are all cocky and quite stupid. But they're a bunch of teenagers, so what did we expect from them.
And story is kinda dumb? It's predictable. Since the very beginning we guess that Thomas is the chosen one who's gonna save them all, which's understandable but still annoying.
Lastly,Teresa wasn't needed for the most part. Except her telepathic abilities, there was nothing special about her. Oh well, scrap that. She's pretty, I mean VERY pretty and the author makes sure to tell us that very clearly.
But over all, it wasn't bad. Not the best either but I might've to read the second book to see what it's all about. Maybe it's because I watched the movie first and loved it but, here you go. ;)
First of all, the characters are very annoying. Their only personality trait is either ; I'm this secretive "dark" and mysterious dude who hates everyone but talks a lot. Or even better ; I'm a background character with less than ten lines.
They are all cocky and quite stupid. But they're a bunch of teenagers, so what did we expect from them.
And story is kinda dumb? It's predictable. Since the very beginning we guess that Thomas is the chosen one who's gonna save them all, which's understandable but still annoying.
Lastly,Teresa wasn't needed for the most part. Except her telepathic abilities, there was nothing special about her. Oh well, scrap that. She's pretty, I mean VERY pretty and the author makes sure to tell us that very clearly.
But over all, it wasn't bad. Not the best either but I might've to read the second book to see what it's all about. Maybe it's because I watched the movie first and loved it but, here you go. ;)
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I can’t really decide what I thought of this book. 3 Stars? 4 Stars? About 2/3 of the way through I said to my husband I said, “honestly nothing has happened yet but I’m intrigued by the mystery.” And then the mystery was resolved in the most unsatisfactory way.
I marked down 5 stars because I definitely really enjoyed this book (more than I expected to) but in reality it may be more of a 4.5.
Synopsis
Thomas wakes up in a box. And its moving. His name that is the only thing he knows. He can't remember his last name, where he came from or who his family is. Nothing.
After being in the moving box for hours, it finally comes to a stop and opens. Peering into the box are a bunch of other boys around his age. When Thomas emerges he discovers that he has been sent to the Maze with about 50 other teen boys. No one remembers anything before they arrived in the box. The first 20 or so boys arrived in the Maze two years ago. And every month since another teen had been sent to them in the box.
Over the last two years, the teen boys had organized created a settlement of sorts in the middle compound area, the Glade. Every boy is assigned a job: cooking, cleaning, farming, medical, and running. The Runners go out into the Maze every morning to memorize and map the every changing Maze. Their task to to try and solve it....so the boys can make their escape. If that challenge wasn't daunting enough, the "Gladers" as they call themselves also face horrible attacks from Grievers. The Grievers are a monster/machine that terrorize the Maze and the Gladers if they don't leave the Maze by sundown.
But Thomas's arrival seems to have sparked a change in the Glade. Supplies stop coming from the Box, the sun disappears and most strangely of all....an unconscious girl arrives in the Box.
The Gladers know that the "Creators" are forcing them into action. Solving and escaping the Maze has never been more crucial. The time to make their escape is now.
My Thoughts
I wasn't sure what to expect from The Maze Runner, but I had heard many good things so I knew I had to read it.
I instantly liked Thomas. He was the typical "hero" type: smart, self-sacrificing, brave, funny, inquisitive, persistent and sometimes impulsive. He is thrown into an impossible situation and immediately feels a responsibility and duty to help. For me, the Maze, the Glade and the Grievers were almost impossible to wrap my mind around; and at first some of it seemed a little far fetched. Everything seems to operate from magic and nothing makes logical sense. As a reader, trying to visualize and understand is a little difficult. But the more I thought about it...that must be exactly how the characters felt. They have been thrown into a situation that's more of a nightmare than reality. Everything they are dealing with doesn't make sense and shouldn't be happening but it is. I also really enjoyed the slang that the Gladers had created for themselves. "Shuck-face" and "klunk head" are my most favorite new terms.
One thing I was unsure about in the Maze Runner was the relationship between Thomas and Theresa (the girl in the box). I wasn't sure if I truly "shipped" them or not. But after reading the rest of the series my feeling about this part of The Maze Runner makes more sense. I think the unsure feelings are what the author intended.
Overall, readers that enjoy post-apocalyptic, dystopian and even zombie books should pick up The Maze Runner. I don't think it will disappoint.
Synopsis
Thomas wakes up in a box. And its moving. His name that is the only thing he knows. He can't remember his last name, where he came from or who his family is. Nothing.
After being in the moving box for hours, it finally comes to a stop and opens. Peering into the box are a bunch of other boys around his age. When Thomas emerges he discovers that he has been sent to the Maze with about 50 other teen boys. No one remembers anything before they arrived in the box. The first 20 or so boys arrived in the Maze two years ago. And every month since another teen had been sent to them in the box.
Over the last two years, the teen boys had organized created a settlement of sorts in the middle compound area, the Glade. Every boy is assigned a job: cooking, cleaning, farming, medical, and running. The Runners go out into the Maze every morning to memorize and map the every changing Maze. Their task to to try and solve it....so the boys can make their escape. If that challenge wasn't daunting enough, the "Gladers" as they call themselves also face horrible attacks from Grievers. The Grievers are a monster/machine that terrorize the Maze and the Gladers if they don't leave the Maze by sundown.
But Thomas's arrival seems to have sparked a change in the Glade. Supplies stop coming from the Box, the sun disappears and most strangely of all....an unconscious girl arrives in the Box.
The Gladers know that the "Creators" are forcing them into action. Solving and escaping the Maze has never been more crucial. The time to make their escape is now.
My Thoughts
I wasn't sure what to expect from The Maze Runner, but I had heard many good things so I knew I had to read it.
I instantly liked Thomas. He was the typical "hero" type: smart, self-sacrificing, brave, funny, inquisitive, persistent and sometimes impulsive. He is thrown into an impossible situation and immediately feels a responsibility and duty to help. For me, the Maze, the Glade and the Grievers were almost impossible to wrap my mind around; and at first some of it seemed a little far fetched. Everything seems to operate from magic and nothing makes logical sense. As a reader, trying to visualize and understand is a little difficult. But the more I thought about it...that must be exactly how the characters felt. They have been thrown into a situation that's more of a nightmare than reality. Everything they are dealing with doesn't make sense and shouldn't be happening but it is. I also really enjoyed the slang that the Gladers had created for themselves. "Shuck-face" and "klunk head" are my most favorite new terms.
One thing I was unsure about in the Maze Runner was the relationship between Thomas and Theresa (the girl in the box). I wasn't sure if I truly "shipped" them or not. But after reading the rest of the series my feeling about this part of The Maze Runner makes more sense. I think the unsure feelings are what the author intended.
Overall, readers that enjoy post-apocalyptic, dystopian and even zombie books should pick up The Maze Runner. I don't think it will disappoint.
I enjoyed the book but it was a slow start ... Get throw first 60ish pages. It's worth it.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Intriguing would be a good word to describe this. The mystery of what the maze is easily carried me through the book despite some slightly annoying aspects (wasn't crazy about some of the dialogue and the characters were surprisingly unfleshed out for a 400-something page book.) But a truly memorable story and mystery. Sort of like The Hunger Games meets Cube.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
At first, when I started reading this book, it was kind of boring. I couldn't really get into it, until probably the first hundred pages or so. After Teresa, the mysterious girl, comes into play, is when the book got really interesting. From that point, I couldn't put the book down. Is very exciting, filled with interesting puzzles that made me want to continue reading until the end. The epilogue was a real kick in the butt in the sense that it left you wondering what is going to happend in the second book. Luckily for me, I have all free books, so I'm not worried about having to wait to get my hands on the next book. This actually intrigues me enough to want to watch the movie when it finally comes out, even though I'm not much of a movie after book fan
I definitely have a love/hate relationship with this book. I enjoyed the concept, the plot, and the story as a whole but I found it a bit predictable. The minute Thomas befriends Chuck and makes that promise I knew Chuck wasn't going to survive. I love characters that are quick at making connections and finding solutions and I feel like that's what Thomas was supposed to be and yet I was never surprised by this discoveries because I was waiting for him to FINALLY make them. It made reading this book a bit frustrating more me. I feel obligated to read the next book but I'm not sure if I will. Overall it was a good read and I'd recommend it to anyone who is into this kind of YA genre.