The Maze Runner by James Dashner 4 of 5 stars
Thomas wakes up inside a metal box moving up a shaft. He doesn’t know where he is, how he got there; he doesn’t remember anything but his name. When the pulley finishes pulling his box upward, he discovers he’s arrived in a small community of teen boys who are just trying to survive.
When he arrives, he learns that they are all prevented from leaving by a gigantic maze filled with hideous creatures outside of the stone walls that surround their community.
His appearance is the beginning of the end of the small groups way of life and, as things become more and more dire, Tom is forced to come up with a plan to save them all.
I stole the physical copy of The Maze Runner from my sister’s personal library in a desperate search for something to read – and finished the book in half a day. The plot is so fast-paced and filled with suspense, there was no way I could have put it down.
I did have some moments where the language that Tom thought in didn’t sound very YA, but I guess that was because Tom was supposed to be exceptionally intelligent.
——SPOILERS——
First let me give a disclaimer. I’m a total wimp and a softy when it comes to tear jerking scenes. The first time I watched Bambi, I cried. And I was an adult at the time. So keep that in mind when I explain my lack of connection to the characters.
I found it hard to connect to any of the other characters in the book. I was able to connect a little bit with Tom, but not at all with Teresa or Chucky – and I should have been able to. I’m not certain if it was because the focus was on the action in the novel or the pace of the plot, but I still should have felt something when Chucky died. Instead, I felt – nothing. Nothing at all.
The book was really good – the plot was enjoyable and moved along, but when I got to the end and realized there was going to be a sequel – with, most likely, the same amount of dark, dreariness that this book had – I didn’t feel excited. I felt drained.
That was just my reaction though – and says nothing for the writing in The Maze Runner. It was good. Good enough that I might read it again in a year or so if I had nothing else on my shelf.
