Thursday Titles: The Maze Runner

My 12-year-old son, a voracious reader, recommended this YA dystopian book to me.  Here’s my opinion.

Thomas comes to himself in an elevator, his memory wiped, and emerges into a boxed in area called the Glade.  Inside are a bunch of young boys with their own cobbled-together society and their own slang.  Their objective: to survive, and to find a way out of the giant, shifting maze that surrounds their home.  Thomas soon learns that they are hunted by frightening creatures called Grievers, and watched by the maze’s creators, but no one will tell him much else.  But despite the giant holes in his knowledge, Thomas is driven to unravel the mystery and help the Gladers escape the maze.

The Maze Runner is a fun, gripping mystery that keeps the reader guessing right up to the end, and beyond.  The story is filled with great twists and steady pacing, the characters are interesting, and the setting is imaginative.  Fans of the Hunger Games or Divergent will especially like this one.

Like most young adult fantasy novels, this one is going through the Hollywood machine, too, so if you want to read it first before seeing the movie, act fast.  It looks like it will adapt well to the big screen.

I’m looking forward to reading the two sequels to this one, which I’m told give up few answers until much later, and the prequel that explains how the Gladers got in the maze.  I’ll be reviewing those as well, so keep an eye on my blog in the future.