The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner book #1

James Dashner

★★★★☆

He began his new life standing up, surrounded by cold darkness and stale, dusty air.

Metal ground against metal; a lurching shudder shook the floor beneath him. He fell down at the sudden movement and shuffled backward on his hands and feet, drops of sweat beading on his forehead despite the cool air. His back struck a hard metal wall; he slid along it until he hit the corner of the room. Sinking to the floor, he pulled his legs up tight against his body, hoping his eyes would soon adjust to the darkness.

 With another jolt, the room jerked upward like an old lift in a mine shaft.

 Harsh sounds of chains and pulleys, like the workings of an ancient steel factory, echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls with a hollow, tinny whine. The lightless elevator swayed back and forth as it ascended, turning the boy's stomach sour with nausea; a smell like burnt oil invaded his senses, making him feel worse. He wanted to cry, but no tears came; he could only sit there, alone, waiting.

 My name is Thomas, he thought.

 That... that was the only thing he could remember about his life.

            Thomas woke up in a metal box with no idea who he was, no idea how he got there, and no idea why he was there. The only thing he knew was his name. He emerged from the box to find a crowd of boys gathered around him, and learned that he is trapped in a place called the Glade, and the boys are called Gladers. There are no girls, and the Glade is surrounded by an unsolvable Maze infested with monsters known as Grievers. Supplies, such as medical supplies and food, arrive regularly in the elevator Thomas came in.

            One day after Thomas arrives, the Box starts to rumble and out comes the Glade’s first girl. To Thomas, she looks familiar and he becomes infatuated with her. After she arrives, a series of events begin unfolding that have never happened before in the Glade’s close-knit community, including Thomas being among the first three to survive the night in the Maze, the sun disappearing from the sky, and the Gates failing to close.

            As Thomas, Teresa, Alby, Chuck, Newt and the other Gladers struggle to survive and escape the dying Glade, many answers are revealed but some questions still remain unanswered, and insanity and death lurk around every corner.

I would recommend this book to readers of the Hunger Games ages 13-ish. What’s unusual in this book is the all the characters are boys-except for one girl, Teresa. Like the Hunger Games, it’s a post-apocalyptic novel, but in this book the world is ending from solar flares and it’s missing some of the Hunger Games’ ingenuity. It’s also reminiscent of the Lord of the Flies. What I liked about it was the action and how the plot always seemed to get another twist just when I was sure it was getting less exciting. The setting was also quite unique. Give this book a try!