The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Release Date: October 6, 2009
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 374
Review Source: Library

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
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 black. 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 they could remember, the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night, they’ve 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 arrives in the lift—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 be able to 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.

My Thoughts:
I had been hearing about this book for a very long time, and I kept meaning to read it, but for some reason it never happened. It was finally a book talk in my readers’ advisory class which made me put it on hold at the library. I’ve heard a lot of comparisons of this to 'The Hunger Games' series, which definitely puts it in stiff competition, but I have to say, I was hooked by 'The Maze Runner' right from the very beginning. Dashner weaves a narrative which makes you extremely curious about the maze, the inhabitants of the Glade, and about what exactly is going on. Even in the idyllic glade there is a foreboding sense behind all the secrecy, and the maze appears almost as a separate character itself, beckoning to Thomas and the reader.

‘The Maze Runner’ is filled with both action and quieter moments of contemplation, as Thomas tries to solve the maze and remember who he is. As the book comes to a close the tension increases, and you’re left with a sense of disbelief, even if you had seen the ending coming the whole time. This book is truly amazing and captivating, and I highly recommend it to fans of science fiction and dystopias, and definitely to those readers who enjoyed ‘The Hunger Games’ or similar works. The 2nd book in this series, The Scorch Trials, came out on October 12 (Tuesday!!), and I can't wait to read it.

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