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dani_dabbles 's review for:
The Maze Runner
by James Dashner
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.