The Maze Runner by James Dasher

The Maze Runner by James Dasher

Released August 24, 2009
Spoiler Free Review by Krystal

"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."

I'm such a sucker for Young Adult books like The Hunger Games or Twlight...I was so excited to start The Maze Runner. Now that I've read the book, I MUST see the movie.

Thomas, arrives in the "Glade" remembering nothing but his name. There are no adults and nobody remembers who they are or where they came from. and every month, a new boy arrives in a similar manner, to help the community of young boys achieve their purpose: find a way out of the maze they are trapped in. The setting is built remarkably well, outlining the general set-up of life in the Glade, including the haunting aspect of the maze shifting every night. A group of boys known as Runners travel through the maze in the morning, escaping the creatures that live there, in an effort to find an escape route. It's all a very intriguing set-up.

Then, the first girl shows up. Except, she's got a message. Thomas is sure that he can somehow use this to shake things up and find a way out, once and for all. It will become survival of the fittest, but they are not going to give up without a fight.

"You are the shuckiest shuck faced shuck in the world!”

The slang in this book drove me NUTS. There’s klunk that is really shit. There’s slinthead which  probably means shithead. There’s shuck which is obviously fuck. It’s sooooo overused. I found it distracting and super annoying. 

The Maze Runner is slow. excruciatingly so. While the story does, eventually, pick up, it hits its stride a little too late and when this novel finally began to get a little interesting. Not only did I feel aloof from the characters, but the constant barrage of questions with no answers had me exhausted. If there's anything I hate, it's being kept in the dark. Granted, it got me to the end of the book, but the eventual reveal didn't leave me too impressed and despite the slight cliffhanger ending, I'm curious enough to watch the actual movie and pick up the next book. 

Purchase Link:
Amazon: Kindle Edition