Hello Readers!
I'm back with another book discussion!
Today is all about The Maze Runner by James Dashner.
I read this last month and I'm dying to review it because I have a mess load to say. Good and bad.
So here we go!!
Goodreads Description:
"EVERYTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE....
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. He has no recollection of his parents his home, or how he got where he is. His memory is empty.
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 expanse enclosed 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, for as long as anyone can remember, the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night, for just as long, they've closed tight. Every thirty days a new boy is delivered in the lift. And no one wants to be stuck in the maze after dark.
The Gladers were expecting Thomas's arrival. But the next day, a girl is sent up- the first girl ever to arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. The Gladers have always been convinced that if they can solve the maze that surrounds the Glade, they might find their way home... wherever that may be. But it's looking more and more as if the maze is unsolvable.
And something about the girl's arrival is starting to make Thomas feel different. Something is telling him that he might just have some answers- if he can only find a way to retrieve the dark secrets locked within his own mind. "
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. He has no recollection of his parents his home, or how he got where he is. His memory is empty.
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 expanse enclosed 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, for as long as anyone can remember, the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night, for just as long, they've closed tight. Every thirty days a new boy is delivered in the lift. And no one wants to be stuck in the maze after dark.
The Gladers were expecting Thomas's arrival. But the next day, a girl is sent up- the first girl ever to arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. The Gladers have always been convinced that if they can solve the maze that surrounds the Glade, they might find their way home... wherever that may be. But it's looking more and more as if the maze is unsolvable.
And something about the girl's arrival is starting to make Thomas feel different. Something is telling him that he might just have some answers- if he can only find a way to retrieve the dark secrets locked within his own mind. "
My Rating:
3/5 Stars!
My Review:
So....this book is lacking. How's that for honesty?
I had a hard time with most of this book.
I saw the movie when it came out, so that may be some of the problem, but either way....I'm not satisfied.
Yes, I know there are more books in this series. Yes, I know the story isn't over and yes,I do plan on continuing on with them.
That being said, let me tell you what I had issue with.
First, Teresa's character is COMPLETELY unnecessary to the story line of the book. She made sense in the movie. NOT. THE. BOOK.
How does that even happen?! I've never read a book where a character felt so out of place and just ugh. Seriously.
Thomas was cool, but he couldn't actually reason anything out. Dude worked on gut instinct and feelings alone. No logic was used whatsoever. In my opinion any way.
In real life, we think things through. Yes, we do have gut feelings and instincts, but I'm pretty sure those are questioned before we act on them. Unless you're an idiot. I mean....really....come on.
Alby was a dick in the book. Like...excuse me what kind of name is Alby...and why the crap are you so mean to everyone?! Nobody is happy about being stuck in a damn maze. Get over yourself bruh.
Loved Newt. Super nice fella.
And CHUCK!!! I loved Chuck. What a sweetheart.
Basically, I only liked three characters in the book. None of them being the main characters.
All in all, I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this. Especially not to someone who has seen the movie before reading it. It ruins this one.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Okay, so here come the spoilers.
Characters:
Thomas
Well....Thomas was not my favorite. Not by any means. I like him better than this one other character, who I will get to momentarily, but that isn't saying much.
Thomas is apparently supposed to be super smart and cute and just the bomb.
No.
He acts on gut feelings. His reasoning behind pretty much every decision ever was that he just knew he had to do it. That is not real life. We don't walk around going "Oh, I just have this feeling and I'm gonna act on it without even think it through."
That does NOT happen.
Thomas helped to design The Maze. He worked for WICKED. Which turns out to not to be a good organization. Or so we think......(Dum dum duuuuum!!!)
That annoyed the crap out of me.
Of course he did end up saving the day, and I finally liked him in the last few chapters of the book. That was clearly not enough to redeem him completely.
(Thomas' face the whole story)
Theresa
I hated Theresa. She added NOTHING to this story. Not a single thing. It felt like they threw her in there just so we would have a love interest and a female character.
Not cool.
I would rather have all male characters than have a random girl thrown in that doesn't add to the story at all. She freaking detracts from it!
And the love interest between Thomas and Theresa sucks! It is the absolute worst ever.
And please someone tell me why the heck Thomas and Theresa have telepathic abilities...What is the point?!!!!!! So stupid.
In the movie she actually added something and it made sense and there was no telepathy....much better in the movie.
Theresa helped design the maze. She sucks. Don't like her a bit.
Minho
This is my favorite character. Minho is the keeper of the Runners, which basically means the head Runner, leader of the Runners, boss of the Runners, king of the Runners, and so on. You get the point.
He is kind to Thomas pretty much right away and he is the reason that Thomas gets to become a
Runner in the first place. So go Minho.
(This is still totally how I see Minho in the book)
For real, if Minho dies in this series, I'm gonna be so mad. He's one of the only good things about it.
Newt
Newt is pretty cool. He is Alby's right hand man. He is one of the first to arrive in the Glade. He's also one of only two characters that is nice to Thomas as soon as he arrived in the maze.
Newt used to be a Runner and he got hurt, so he's stuck in the Glade now. I think that Newt is a pretty brave fella because at the end, he goes out into that maze so courageously. He inspires just about all of the Gladers to go out and try to save themselves.
You go Newt. You. Go.
Alby
I didn't like Alby. He was such a jerk to Thomas as well as every other Glader in the book. I thought it was unnecessary. I mean..yeah....you have to keep order, but can't you be nice and still have people respect you enough to listen to you.
Yes. Yes you can.
He was the very first to show up in the Glade. So I guess maybe he's depressed and that's why he's mean.
Alby was really awesome in the movie and I feel like they really rewrote him completely from how he is described in the book. Definitely prefer movie Alby.
Alby actually does some crappy stuff.
He burns the maps that the runners have been making because he's scared of what the world outside of The Maze is like.
In the end, he basically goes nuts and sacrifices himself to the Grievers. It was selfless, but also selfish. He thought he would save everyone if he died, and he also did it because he did not want to go into the outside world. He was terrified of what awaited them beyond The Maze.
Chuck
Oh my goooosh. Chuck. Chuck is my second favorite character. He is a very you kid. He's chubby and round faced and I love him. He's precious.
He is the other person to be kind to Thomas right away. He picks on Thomas and junk but he is a true friend.
I love the relationship that Chuck has with Thomas. He's a friend, but also like a little brother to Thomas.
Chuck was so so so brave in the end of the book. Not only did he go into the Maze to help Thomas and to escape, but he also sacrificed his life to save Thomas.
Yes...you saw that right....Chuck dies.
Chuck dives in front of Thomas when Gally throws a knife at him. Gally is crazy and can't help it, but he killed Chuck. So I hate him.
It was so sad, not only because Chuck was so young and innocent, but because Thomas had promised him that they would find Chuck's parents.
I cried at this part in the book. It's the only place I felt any emotion besides complete frustration.
Gally
I. Hate. Gally. He's an ass the entire story, and it only gets worse as the story unfolds. Gally was stung by a Griever and he got some of his memories back. He knows that Thomas helped to design the Maze, so he also thinks that Thomas is responsible for putting the kids in it.
I don't have a lot more to say about him...He was just an ass....
So that's all of the characters that are worth mentioning.
As far as the plot as a whole goes, I did like the premise of this book. The plot as a whole was good. I just hated the character interaction and development, except for a couple of characters.
The ending was really sad. I just hated that sweet little Chuck had to die. I don't understand that a bit. Probably just so people like me would cry about it....
I'm glad that Gally is gone, but at the same time, maybe he could have turned to the good side of things. Maybe he could have seen that Thomas wasn't a bad person. I dunno.
Theresa could have died. That would have been nice.
I really am going to continue on with the series. The only hope that I have for the remaining three books is that it will just get a teeny bit better and that Minho won't die. Somehow, I suspect that he will....:'(
(The cast of The Maze Runner movie. I picture all of the characters this way.)
I hope that you have enjoyed this book discussion. I also hope I didn't offend anyone with my opinions of this one. I know it's a pretty popular series.
XOXO,
Eden
