The Maze Runner Review

 

I loved this book. I think I first came across it when reading about The Hunger Games.  It's the first of a trilogy by James Dashner, although there's a prequel coming out in August. So I love young adult literature. I think some of the most creative, well-written books are coming out of the young adult world now, which is awesome. My husband and I love going to bookstores now and seeing how many amazing books are out for young adults now that we would have been obsessed with as kids. 

I also love dystopian/post-apocalyptic fiction. The Maze Runner fits the bill perfectly. It all starts with Thomas waking up in a mysterious elevator that delivers him to the Glade, a self-sustaining farm, which is surrounded by a maze with hundred foot high walls. There are around fifty teen-aged boys living in the Glade. They have everything provided for them, from seeds to plant to animals to butcher to clothes to hardware for building. The maze that surrounds the glade is miles long. Thomas shows up clearly confused and so we learn about this world through his eyes. The action picks up pretty quickly, especially after a comatose girl arrives and everything begins to change. There are huge stakes and it gets a little creepy and violent at times (not too much for kids to handle though). 

I read this really quickly. I think I had about 25% left yesterday and spent a two hour drive just finishing it off. I'm dying to jump into the rest of the series, but I got this from the public library, along with one other that I need to read first since I only get them for 21 days. I just started The Boy in the Suitcase but I'm already 20% in so I should get back to the Maze Runner books soon. The first one was awesome. Definitely on par with The Hunger Games. I did want a little more time in the maze itself but with the action moving so quickly, that couldn't really be done. Oh well. The rest was great.

Buy it at amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.