The Maze Runner Review

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 thirty 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.


My Thoughts: I've had this book for at least four years, but it took the reminder of the upcoming movie and a sick day to remind me to read it. And to be honest, I thought it was just OK. It was interesting enough that I'll undoubtedly go see the movie, but it's almost in spite of the book, since I have mixed feelings. If you know anything about The Maze Runner, there's no secret that these guys are in/surrounded by a maze that they can't figure out. There's more to their problematic story than that, but it's already clear that this group of people don't know what's going on. And in turn, the reader doesn't either.

This wasn’t an uncommon way to tell a story, so I was fine with being in the dark along with the characters. But little by little, when parts of the truth began to be revealed, it begged for a huge reveal. It was exciting to know that some of these answers would come by the end of the book. But when I got them, they didn’t seem big enough. Or maybe they were too big. And fantastical books don’t have to be realistic, but these answers didn’t seem realistic for the world Dashner had painted. Either that or I didn’t truly understand the reveal regarding the maze and its purpose.  I think what else didn’t help is knowing that the whole time I’m reading this, I’m thinking of how it would play out on a big screen. And by the end of the story, I became afraid that viewers for the movie might share the confusion I felt for the book. I really hope I’m wrong, because I do want the potential movie franchise to succeed, but I do have my reservations.

I am however, still invested enough to read the second book. Because despite the problems I had with it, it was still fun, interesting, and fast-paced. Not to mention that I have so many unanswered questions. So I can’t not continue with the series. Hopefully The Scorch Trials (and The Death Cure) will help clear things up for me.