Book Review – The Maze Runner by James DashnerSeeking out another survival story, (after reading and loving ‘The Hunger Games’ by Suzanne Collins) I came across a recommendation to read “The Maze Runner” by James Dashner. Happily, I found we already had a copy in our Young Adult collection.
The title and the front cover of this book immediately convey to the reader what this book is about – a maze, and quite a sinister one from the cover illustration. The story begins with both the reader and the main character equal in their knowledge (or lack thereof) of what is going on within the setting of the story.
“My name is Thomas, he thought.
That… that was the only thing he could remember about his life.”
Thomas, the main character, knows general information about the world and how it works but he remembers nothing personal about his life and nothing about current events. He wakes, in darkness and soon arrives in ‘The Glade’. Events move quickly after his arrival and the pace doesn’t slacken throughout the book. Thomas finds himself the new tenant in a homestead style environment surrounded by a maze. He compares it to living in a prison… but is it keeping them in or something else out? His new living companions are all teenage boys. Alby and Newt, two of the oldest in the group, are responsible for filling Thomas in on his new situation.
“Old life’s over, new life’s begun. Learn the rules quick, listen, don’t talk.”
He meets others in the group, some who hate him on sight and some, like Chuck - the newest boy except for him, he befriends. The group of boys have built their own community, (some have been there two years), their own rules; even their own slang. The only regular events are that a new boy arrives each month and they get supplies delivered every week. While being clueless about his surroundings and his previous life, Thomas begins to have a sense of familiarity. Gally, a bully, who has been through what the boys call ‘The Changing’ after being injured; swears he has seen Thomas before and that he is bad news.
“‘Out there’s the maze’, Newt whispered, eyes wide as if in a trance. ‘Everything we do – our whole life, Greenie – revolves around the maze.”
This is the most important thing Thomas learns. The boys believe that the only way they can escape is to solve the maze. However, after the doors to the maze shut at night, the walls move around and monsters roam the pathways, so they have not been able to solve it. A ‘runner’ has the job of mapping the maze everyday, looking for an exit. Thomas quickly gets the feeling that it is his destiny to become a “Maze Runner’.
What Thomas and the other ‘Gladers’ don’t realise yet is that with Thomas’ arrival everything is about to change.
I like this book as it left the reader asking question after question, which kept you reading as new questions were posed.
Who were the ‘Gladers’?
What were their previous lives and why don’t they remember?
Why are they there?
Where are they?
What is the maze and what is the solution?
Who is watching?
Why does it seem familiar to Thomas and has Gally really seen him before?
Thomas was my favourite character because, while new to the Glade, he didn’t just freak out, he kept seeking answers and as he found them, so did the reader. I also enjoyed the humour and sarcasm that the other characters brought to the story. This story is about survival and never giving up or becoming complacent. It was fast paced so I couldn’t put it down until I had discovered all the answers to the questions. There are some violent portions in this story so I wouldn’t recommend it to young readers but anyone 14+ should enjoy it. While it can be read on its own, the final chapters pose some additional questions and so I am glad the sequel has come out.
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