REVIEW: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Everything is going to change….

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. He has no recollection of his parents, his home, or how he got where he is. His memory is empty.

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 expanse enclosed 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, for as long as anyone can remember, the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night, for just as long, they’re closed tight. Every thirty days a new boy is delivered in the lift. And no one wants to be stuck in the Maze after dark.

The Gladers were expecting Thomas’s arrival. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl ever to arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. The Gladers have always been convinced that if they can solve the maze that surrounds the Glade, they might find their way home…wherever that may be. But it’s looking more and more as if the Maze is unsolvable.

And something about the girl’s arrival is starting to make Thomas feel different. Something is telling him that he just might have some answers—if he can only find a way to retrieve the dark secrets locked within his own mind.

I don’t tend to read YA books written by male authors, something about their synopses just never catches my eye. Odd considering the fact that the first book to make me fall in love with reading was a Sci Fi written by a male author (he later became my first favorite author). So I wasn’t originally set on reading this book until I heard about the film adaptation and that the love of my life, Dylan O’Brien, would be starring as Thomas. So I decided to read the book. Have I no shame? None.

I have to say that I am so glad I picked up this book. Not only did it re-spark my respect for YA male authors, but it kick-started my fast-dying love of dystopian books. This book kind of had a little bit of everything I love in it. It was kind of like Lord of the Flies meets The 100. It had all the new civilization dynamics of both, but with no background knowledge. All these boys and the one girl end up in the Glade with no knowledge of their pasts, and yet they still form a working and stable civilization with rules and everything.

James Dashner did a great job in creating this first book. There was so much intrigue and mystery surrounding the lift, WICKED, the girl, the Maze, and Thomas. All the characters were really well developed and the book didn’t end up as a giant info-dump-lopedia, as a lot tend to when there’s a character in a brand new place. The character has to ask questions to figure out what’s going on, and it wasn’t overdone in this book.

Another thing I love about the book was the mix of animal with machine, as most of the creatures in the Maze were. They were gruesome and downright terrifying even though they weren’t nearly as large as they were portrayed in the film. The film’s Maze creatures were so stupid, honestly.

Also, the way to figure out the Maze was genius. I would not have been able to figure is out, which is why I wouldn’t have been alive to get put in the Glade in the first place (plus I’m not Theresa). Sure, there were a few loose ends left untied, but what book one doesn’t have that. It’s definitely one I would recommend. It’s a quick read and a lot of things happen, and tons of secrets are revealed that make for a brilliant read.

XOXO Tia