Tuesday, May 13, 2014

The Maze Runner

This dystopian, apocalyptic book has been described as "Lord of the Flies" meets "Ender's Game." Thomas awakes in an elevator which opens up to a village of teen boys who have been trying to escape the surrounding maze for years. Thomas is unable to remember anything about his personal past up to that moment, except for his first name. Thomas' arrival seems to precipitate a series of threatening and uncharacteristic events. One of the boy's recognizes Thomas from his own past, a girl arrives at the village, the maze becomes more deadly and is closing in on the village. Now everyone is more desperate than ever to find a way out.
The Maze Runner, by James Dashner
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2 comments:

Karen said...

As dystopian books go, this has been one of the more popular ones. I haven't had a chance to see the movie yet, but if you have, why not compare and contrast with the book. Let us know what you think of this book. And if you love it, "The Scorch Trials" is the second book in the series. This one did remind me a lot of "Ender's Game." So, what do you think?

Caitlin McHugh said...

The Maze Runner is a dystopian novel focused on Thomas, a sixteen year old orphan, as he navigates his new life at the Glade with Teresa, Newt, and Minho. He becomes a Maze Runner with Minho and works to find a way out of the Glade with the other teenagers in the Glade. Thomas grows as a person and as a leader, and he is one of the three leaders to actually get out of the Maze. The epilogue is the only part of the book that is not told from Thomas’ point of view, and it is very enlightening about what will happen in the next book.
Previously, I read this book in high school. Since I have read it again, I feel that it is very good and just as enjoyable and page-turning as the first time I read it. My favorite parts were Thomas and Teresa’s interactions, the Gatherings, and the relationships that Thomas had with Newt and Minho. As a character, Thomas was well-developed but other characters were one-dimensional, such as Gally and Alby. However, this book was one of my favorites and I want to read the rest of the books in the series to find out what happens to these characters.