Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Summary (from Goodreads):
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. 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, open expanse surrounded 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 the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.  Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

THIS. BOOK.  It is seriously intense, my friends.

Thomas arrives in the Glade with no memories.  He knows how to speak, how the world works, and what things are, but when it comes to specific people, places, or memories, he has nothing.

The day after Thomas arrives, a girl shows up in the Glades, the first ever.  She says one sentence before passing out, "Everything is going to change."  In her hand, the Gladers find a note that says, "She's the last one.  Ever."

Thomas doesn't know the girl, but he can't help feeling that he has some sort of connection to her, somehow.  The same sort of feeling he gets when he first sees the Runners.  The Runners are the group of Gladers that run out into the maze every day, always searching for a way out.  They've been running for two years and find nothing different, but still they continue to run.  As Thomas watches them go into the depths of the maze, he can't help but feel as if he should be one of them.

Then, one day, when he helps one of his friends out as a Griever is chasing him in the maze, Thomas gets offered the chance he's been waiting for: he's allowed to train as a Runner.  Not exactly sure what he's searching for, but glad to begin, Thomas eagerly accepts and begins training, searching for a way out of the endless maze before time runs out.

Okay guys, I'll admit.  The first few chapters or so of this book seriously got on my nerves.  I felt like nothing was happening and it was really confusing because none of the Gladers would elaborate on the world that Thomas had been thrust into, leaving readers just as bewildered as Thomas.  But, once Thomas started getting a few answers and some of the lingo was decoded, the story got much better.  

And on a side note, I don't think that James Dashner has ever truly been on a long run.  Because his characters all eat full-blown meals and then go run for hours.  I run all the time, and I feel slow and groggy if I eat even 3 or 4 hours before I run, much less 15 minutes before.  Or maybe it's just me.  Who knows?  It just cracked me up a little bit.

But, in all seriousness, The Maze Runner was fantastic.  After you get past the first few chapters, the story is completely enveloping.  I mean, I seriously think I took my copy everywhere I went on Friday and Saturday.  It's a good story, and Dashner told it well.

The book was very fast-paced and really interesting.  And once the action starts (though it does take a couple of chapters to get there,) it never stops! And the ending.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  It left me pretty much begging for the sequel.

Favorite quote from the book:

" 'We can do it,' she said in a quiet voice.

Hearing her say that only made him worry mroe.  'Holy crap, I'm scared.'

'Holy crap, you're human.  You should be scared.'

Thomas didn't respond, and for a long time they just sat there, holding hands, no words spoken, in their minds or aloud.  He felt the slightest hint of peace, as fleeting as it was, and tried to enjoy it for however long it might last."