The Maze Runner (Maze Runner Trilogy, Book 1)
by James Dashner
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Book Summary Information
Author: James DashnerBrand: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-10-06
ISBN: 0385737947
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Book Reviews of The Maze Runner (Maze Runner Trilogy, Book 1)
Book Review: I couldn't put this book down! Ignore the negative reviews
Summary: 5 Stars
I am 40 years old and my wife and 2 of my children read this book and said good things. I decided to see what the buzz was about and picked it up. It didn't take long for me to realize this was the kind of book that I would not be able to put down. In fact I stayed up late and read the entire book in a single day!
I have read some of the negative reviews of this book and I just don't get it. I think that there are some people who enjoy pontificating and sounding important more than providing relevant feedback about a book. Perhaps they feel smarter or more important than they really are by dissecting a book without trying to understand the reasons for some of the things they say they dislike.
I have read hundreds of novels in my life. I focus on the main purpose of a book, which is to entertain me with a good story. The Maze Runner definitely delivered a great story. I found myself wanting more and not wanting to put the book down. I think some of those nay sayer out there really didn't take the time to see the brilliance of the story.
There were some who complained about the made up slang language of the Glade. And yet youth, especially boys, are always creating their own expressions and in fact, most adults look at them in amazement when the say something that seems to make no sense or even seems dumb. Does nobody remember the common use of "tubular" in the 80s? In fact in different sub cultures and different parts of the country, different young people come up with all kinds of slang terms. Some of them like "cool" of the 50s stick forever and don't seem to last. Others like "groovy" come in and out of style and even change meanings. Then we have 80s terms that came and went and few survived.
So for me the slang of The Maze Runner worked just fine and was not only believable, but actually made it more real to me. In Lord of the Flies their own unique vocabulary and slang made it a classic and yet detractors point fingers at The Maze Runner. It makes no sense to me.
I loved the story, the mystery, the action, the questions that I kept asking just as Thomas asked them. The characters seemed very real and believable to me and those who claim there was no enough development just irritate me. The seem to forget that this story takes place in about a week. There is only so much development of characters that can take place in that period of time and make the story still feel real. Further, there are other books that focus so much on detail and character development that the story suffers. The Maze Runner balanced both nicely. The story was based on characters who had lost their memories. The development of characters was taken at an appropriate pace.
I thought the writing style was easy to read but not simple or ridden with cliches like other books. Basically I really enjoyed this book!
The purpose of fiction is to tell a story that causes the reader to enter another world and the Maze Runner did that for me. This story gripped me and didn't let go.
The story is of teenage boys who come into a place they call "The Glade" that is surrounded by a Maze...which also has dangerous creatures called "Grievers" roaming within. They have lost the memory of their lives before being brought to the Glade. They send runners out into the maze daily to try to map it out and find a way you...but the maze changes daily so they search for a pattern in the changes. They have a rigid social structure and set of laws. They have a society and have created their own slang and way of doing things and way of seeing life. They all have jobs and responsibilities and there is a hierarchy with authority figures called "Keepers". Thomas joins the "Gladers" and soon helps the "Gladers" see life differently than they had before.
The attempt to get out of the Maze without being killed or "stung" by the Grievers while still maintaining order is the prime reason for getting through each day.
Things change when a girl is send into the Glade, the first girl and the last to enter...ever.
This story kept me wanting more and I am now reading the sequel, The Scorch Trials, and I can't wait for the story to continue.
Read this book and ignore the negative reviews because every book has some and the negative reviewers are misguided and focused on the wrong things!
Summary of The Maze Runner (Maze Runner Trilogy, Book 1)
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.
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