Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Series: N/A
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publish Date: 10/6/09
Genre: YA Thriller
Pages: 400
Source: Indie Book Store
Buy the Book: The Maze Runner
SUMMARY: When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.
Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.
Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.
Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind. (via Goodreads.)
SHAUNTA’S REVIEW: I was lucky enough to get an ARC of The Kill Order, which is the prequel to James Dashner’s The Maze Runner. I fell in love with that book, and was so excited to read The Maze Runner.
It didn’t disappoint me.
The Maze Runner is tense and action-packed. The idea of being dropped somewhere really terrifying, with no idea who you are or how you got there or how to get out, is so scary, and Dashner tells that story really well. He has a big ensemble cast full of really well drawn characters. They don’t all blend together, which could be a real threat in the world that he’s created. The one girl is strong and no frivolous or a throw away. Over all, this is a really good book. It will appeal to boys, which is like the holy grail of YA books, and to reluctant readers who will make their way through it just because they have to know what happens next. James Dashner is one of my new favorite writers, and I’m all over The Scorch Trials (the next book in the series.)
As much as I liked this book, though, there were a couple of things that irritated me. I didn’t like the made up slang. Language takes a long time to change, and I didn’t believe that in two years these kids would have developed an entire replacement language for naughty words. Their slang is completely made up of clean replacements for dirty words. And they all use it. All of them. Even the new guy. Teenage boys aren’t going to stop using the F word because they’re dropped into a scary new world. In fact, they’d probably use it more. The slang was distracting to me.
The other thing is minor, but I’m really glad I read The Kill Order first. If you don’t, or if I’d read The Maze Runner before The Kill Order came out, the lack of explanation about the circumstances leading up to the development of the maze would have driven me crazy. I recommend reading The Kill Order as the first book in this series. It lays the foundation for this book, and makes reading this book a better experience.
James Dashner is a true storyteller. I really am enjoying this series and look forward to continuing it.
