The Maze Runner by James Dashner

 

I am a huge fan of dystopian books! I loved The Giver by Lois Lowry, 1984 by George Orwell, The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (click here to see my review), and of course The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (click here to see my review). I could keep listing books that fit into this genre, but that is a whole other post. I honestly had never heard of The Maze Runner or even James Dashner, but I follow a blog by author, Jenn Johansson, and I entered a giveaway on her blog to win this autographed copy of The Maze Runner. Lo and behold...I won! It was actually a long time ago and I have been meaning to post my review for quite some time...well finally here it is!

This book was great! I thoroughly enjoyed it and originally didn't know it was a dystopian novel when I entered to win it. What a great surprise for me since I love this genre. This book initially reminded me of The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, but more with that "big brother" & "controlled society" factor thrown in.  I don't know how to really describe this book, but the description from Barnes & Noble editorial review is absolutely perfect, so I have to share this portion! I also love that they describe it as a "Truman meets Lord of the Flies tale!

"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." (Barnes & Noble)

I am very much looking forward to the next two books in this trilogy, The Scorch Trials & The Death Cure (coming out in October 2011). I thought all the characters were well developed. The book and plot held such mystery to me that I couldn't put the book down. Thomas the main character is the newest arrival in the Glade, and although like the other boys he can't remember his own last name or how he got there, he starts to feel that some things in the Glade are familiar. A lot of the other boys don't trust Thomas, and he can't explain why things seem so familiar to him. Things are always expected in the Glade, a boy arrives every 30 days, but things change immensely when the first and only girl arrives the day after Thomas, they don't know what to expect and things start changing. The book has a lot of suspense and mystery tied in throughout it. I don't want to give anything away, but you should definitely read this! 

A great start to the series and once I read the other books I will review them as well! I would highly recommend this book, especially to middle school and high school aged readers!

Maze Runner Trilogy

The Maze Runner

The Scorch Trials

The Death Cure

by James Dashner