Thursday, April 19, 2012

Book Review---"The Maze Runner"

I just read this awesome book that I really enjoyed called The Maze Runner.

Written by James Dashner, this is a great middle school novel, especially for boys.  I am just going to put it out there---this book is EXCELLENT for those 7th, 8th, 9th grade boys that aren't big fans of reading.

The book starts off when the reader meets a young man named Thomas.  He is in an elevator, on his way up somewhere, and all he can remember is his name.  He ends up in an area called the glade, that is full of young men anywhere from 12 to 18 years old.  The glade is the living area of these young men.  Thomas hears their story:  One day a large group of the boys ended up in the glade area, with no memory of anything except their names.  Each month, from there on out, one boy is sent up at a time. 

Thomas learns of the maze that encloses the glade--- and how for the past two years, maze runners have been going through the maze, trying to solve the maze.  Thomas ends up learning about the creatures called 'grievers' that attack at night in the maze.  Each night, the doors close that lead to the maze so the boys are protected.

I don't want to give too much away because it's a thrilling book with surprises and twists throughout.  Needless to say, Thomas coming to the glade is followed by a girl named Teresa, the only girl that has ever come to the glade and a girl that Thomas feels a connection to.  Teresa and Thomas coming into the maze sets off a trigger, a signal to the boys that their time in the maze is coming to an end.  But will the end of their time be on their own terms or on the terms of the maze maker? 

I really, really liked this book.  I can't emphasize that enough.  No lie though---the first 20-50 pages took me about 3 days to read and then the rest of the book only took me three hours.  I was quite bored at the beginning, because I didn't really understand what was going on.  But the genuis of the writer is that neither does Thomas.  So, the reader basically feels how Thomas is feeling at the beginning.  There is a lot of made up jargon that the boys have come up with in the book, and that takes getting used to.  Thomas feels the same way, so when he adjusts to the jargon, it seems like the reader does also.

The biggest twist comes at the very end.  I found the ending of the book so very creepy, but not in a scary or gross way.  Just more of an "OH MY GOSH", that is so strange and upsetting and could that happen to us sometime?  The premise of the book is creative, suspenseful, and I don't think I've read anything quite like it before---especially when you get into book 2.  It's definitely a page turner that, while I read, I had no idea what was going to happen on the next page. 

This book is recommended for ages 13 and up.  There is quite a bit of violence and gore, and the suspenseful intensity might be a little much for even 13 year olds (like the sheltered ones).  Enjoy reading The Maze Runner (and it's two sequels as well).