TITLE: The Maze Runner
AUTHOR: James Dashner
SERIES: The Maze Runner #1
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
RATING:
If you ain't scared, you ain't human.
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.
Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.
Everything is going to change.
Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.
Remember. Survive. Run.
The movie is coming out next week and I couldn’t be more excited (it looks really good). But anyways, the book… this review is written after I read The Maze Runner again so…
REVIEW: The Maze Runner is really interesting in that fact that it is one of the few YA books that I’ve read that has a real specific way of speaking. The “Gladers” (people in the Glade) have somewhat created their own dialect of English. It’s really interesting and I think it adds to the book – the reason for having new terms makes a lot of sense. It was a bit difficult at first to figure out what everything meant, but I got to learn alongside Thomas, the newbie in the Glade.
Besides using a different dialect, The Maze Runner is unique in other ways. It is one of the few “popular” YA books that is told from the point of view of a …boy. Gasp! Also, there is no romance. Double gasp! Thomas and Teresa, the only girl in the Glade, do have a “connection”, but it’s not a romantic one. (Seriously though, who has the time to make out when they are too busy trying to survive? Don’t answer that!) To top it off, the book has diversity! 🙂 <3 The Maze Runner also has terrifying monsters called Grievers and some really creepy scenes. There’s a HUGE twist at the end, but that’s all I can say without spoiling anything. It was INTENSE and suspenseful. A page turner that I totally gobbled it up, even though I already had an idea of what was going to happen (I read it before years ago).
My one problem with The Maze Runner is that even though I could relate to most of the main characters, I wanted to shout at Thomas at times to shut up. There were instances where I found him a bit annoying. I get that he was just thrust in a new place, but sometimes you gotta learn to keep your comments to yourself. Otherwise he was a really good main character.
Note: Everyone seems to be comparing The Maze Runner to The Hunger Games, but even though they share some characteristics, they are not the same. There are a lot of differences and honestly I liked The Maze Runner a lot more.
| Final Rating | |
|---|---|
| Characters |  |
| Pacing | |
| Plot | |
| Romance |  |
| Writing | |
| Overall: | 4.6 |
And yes, I did just give The Maze Runner a 5 in the romance category. What? I liked the fact that there was none.
No romance ? How refreshing 😉 The Maze runner looks absolutely great, thanks for sharing !
The Maze Runner is really a really refreshing read from a lot of the other “popular” YA books.
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
I can’t wait for the move either. It’s pretty much because Dylan O’Brien is in it and he’s an extremely talented actor…and so attractive. I’m really nervous at the same time because I want it to succeed so badly. However it’s not a super huge book. I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best!
I need to reread this, but I love your review and your rating system is freaking awesome.
Have a great week!
Rebecca @ Vicariously!
Dylan O’Brien is definitely really talented, as show on Season 3B on Teen Wolf. I really want the film to do well too. And it sounds like it is – apparently it did really well last week when it premiered overseas! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Rebecca! 🙂