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A review by paz_books
Crank Palace by James Dashner
5.0
“The despair on Thomas and Minho’s face had somehow burned into Newt’s mind despite the fact that he’d temporarily lost it.”
The Maze Runner series has been an absolute obsession of mine since i was barely double digits in age. And Newt... a comfort character of mine since book one. I still remember that night where i was hidden on the top bunk of the bunk bed i shared with my sister, reading on my kindle waaaay too late in the night for a 10 or something year old. Then the amount of Thomas Sangster merch i ended up collecting after his role as Newt in the movies; pillows and t-shirts the like. The signed Scorch Trials edition my sister bought me for my birthday. The “page 250” memes i remember to this day.
In brief, what I am trying to say is that this series was a giant love of mine when i was younger, and to be able to delve right back into it as an adult has brought back so many nostalgic and happy memories. However, Dashner had to make it a Newt POV book over a section of The Death Cure- so very speedily i said bye bye to those happy sentiments. This book made me a little bit of a crying mess and i’m not even ashamed to admit that- it was devastating; not necessarily the scenes and the words used (even though they were) but just THINKING about how much Newt, as a character, has been through. And how much of that he went through alone.
Outside of my love for this author and this character, the book was written in relatively short chapters that made it really easy to read. The atmospherical descriptions and tricks were immaculately done, yet still left the right amount of room to form your own image of the place. I feel like in a weird way, the length of this book is perfect. It may be short and the relationship between Newt and Keisha may feel rushed, but i believe it is completely meant to. This book only takes place over a number of days, and the fast build of relationship between the characters is perfectly understandable if you look through the perspective of two completely broken, alone, and frustrated people.
So overall, after all these years i am so happy with this novella. It lived up to my expectations and saddened me just as i thought it would
5/5⭐️
“One less obstacle. One less Newt.”
The Maze Runner series has been an absolute obsession of mine since i was barely double digits in age. And Newt... a comfort character of mine since book one. I still remember that night where i was hidden on the top bunk of the bunk bed i shared with my sister, reading on my kindle waaaay too late in the night for a 10 or something year old. Then the amount of Thomas Sangster merch i ended up collecting after his role as Newt in the movies; pillows and t-shirts the like. The signed Scorch Trials edition my sister bought me for my birthday. The “page 250” memes i remember to this day.
In brief, what I am trying to say is that this series was a giant love of mine when i was younger, and to be able to delve right back into it as an adult has brought back so many nostalgic and happy memories. However, Dashner had to make it a Newt POV book over a section of The Death Cure- so very speedily i said bye bye to those happy sentiments. This book made me a little bit of a crying mess and i’m not even ashamed to admit that- it was devastating; not necessarily the scenes and the words used (even though they were) but just THINKING about how much Newt, as a character, has been through. And how much of that he went through alone.
Outside of my love for this author and this character, the book was written in relatively short chapters that made it really easy to read. The atmospherical descriptions and tricks were immaculately done, yet still left the right amount of room to form your own image of the place. I feel like in a weird way, the length of this book is perfect. It may be short and the relationship between Newt and Keisha may feel rushed, but i believe it is completely meant to. This book only takes place over a number of days, and the fast build of relationship between the characters is perfectly understandable if you look through the perspective of two completely broken, alone, and frustrated people.
So overall, after all these years i am so happy with this novella. It lived up to my expectations and saddened me just as i thought it would
5/5⭐️
“One less obstacle. One less Newt.”