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Saturday, May 07, 2011

Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 379 pages

PublisherDelacorte Press Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (October 6th 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10
0385737947
ISBN-13
9780385737944
Source: Purchased from Powerbooks
First Sentence: "He began his new life standing up, surrounded by cold darkness and stale, dusty air."
Favorite Line from the Book
"I promised him!" he screamed, realizing even as he did so that his voice was laced with something wrong. Almost insanity. "I promised I'd save him, take him home! I promised him!" 
Book Summary:  Imagine waking up one day in total darkness, unsure of where you are and unable to remember anything about yourself except your first name. You're in a bizarre place devoid of adults called the Glade. The Glade is an enclosed structure with a jail, a graveyard, a slaughterhouse, living quarters, and gardens. And no way out. Outside the Glade is the Maze, and every day some of the kids -- the Runners -- venture into the labyrinth, trying to map the ever-changing pattern of walls in an attempt to find an exit from this hellish place. So far, no one has figured it out. And not all of the Runners return from their daily exertions, victims of the maniacal Grievers, part animal, part mechanical killing machines. 

Thomas is the newest arrival to the Glade in this Truman-meets-Lord of the Flies tale. A motley crew of half a dozen kids is all he has to guide him in this strange world. As soon as he arrives, unusual things begin to happen, and the others grow suspicious of him. Though the Maze seems somehow familiar to Thomas, he's unable to make sense of the place, despite his extraordinary abilities as a Runner. What is this place, and does Thomas hold the key to finding a way out?

In The Maze Runner, Dashner has crafted a creative and engaging novel that's both mysterious and thought provoking.
The Maze Runner has been in my bookshelf for about a while now.  I picked it up at one of my favorite local bookstores and I really didn't know anything about the book.  I just bought it out of whim and let's say, curiosity.  I delayed reading it because I just didn't know if I would like it.  Boy, was I wrong!

Well, to be honest, at first I had a hard time going through the first chapters of the book.  I couldn't catch up with some of the weird words used by the inhabitants of the Glade.  But, once I got over that, I read the book in a breeze.  After a couple of chapters, I was succumbed into their world.  I couldn't help but flip page after page looking for the same answers that Thomas, Alby, Newt, Mihlo, Chuck, and Teresa were looking for.  There were twists and turns in the book that I didn't expect and that even made me want to get to the end of the book.

I loved how the author was able to give each characters individuality.  He was able to successfully present each one of them as entirely different person, with different abilities, thought process, and of course, different ways on how to deal with the situations and tests given to them.

The pacing of the book was also much appreciated as it just kept on building and building until its climax.  And then, WHAM!  You've already finished the book.  The author has successfully able to create a huge cliffhanger that its readers will want to read the second book, Scorch Trials.  I honestly didn't expect how the first book ended... and it's simply amazing!

I can't wait to get my hands on Scorch Trials!

Here's the book trailer:


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2 comments:

Lindsay

I loved this book! Minho is my favorite. If Dashner kills him off, I will be SO MAD! Great review!

Bookish Brunette

SUCH an awesome series!!!! I can't wait for The Death Cure!

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