The Maze Runner – Book Review

Title: The Maze Runner

Author: James Dashner

Length: 371 Pages

Genre: Action, Adventure, YA fiction,

Publisher: Chicken House

Description: Thomas wakes up confused, disoriented, brain-washed and the only thing he can remember is his first name. He’s in a place called the Glade surrounded by other boys who have forgotten everything. They’re all trapped in the centre of a strange and horrifying maze that they can’t escape from and don’t know anything about, but in the morning when the doors to the Maze open they’ll try anything and everything to escape.

My Thoughts: The Maze Runner was unlike any other book I’ve ever read! It was phenomenal! It kept you on the edge of your seat the whole way through, there was never a dull moment.

Although you could compare The Maze Runner to a couple of other books (The Knife Of Never Letting Go, The Hunger Games,) those were just certain aspects of the book, I in no way think that James Dashner got his ideas from those books, it was a brilliant unique piece of work.

I don’t really know what I was expecting when I picked up the book, I found out about The Maze Runner from watching the trailer for the film (More on that later) and it looked really, really good! And so I got the book and read it and I’m glad I did!

Unlike other action/adventure type books I’ve read this wasn’t repeating the same thing over and over, I feel like with some books although they can be good and keep you on the edge of your seat they kind of repeat the same thing over and over again and still make it dramatic but with The Maze Runner all the dramatic things were completely different, some of it was predictable but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable when it happened.

I thought Thomas was a really great character, he was easy to relate to and you felt for him and the horrific situation he was in. And as well as him being dead terrified the whole time because of what was happening he was also really brave and strong and that’s how I would want to be in that kind of situation, scared but able to hide it and deal with the situation properly rather than making a bad decision out of fear. I see a lot of myself in Thomas. I feel like as well as Thomas there was a great selection of characters all having different characteristics but also sharing similar characteristics, and it was really well balanced.

There were actually days when I didn’t have a lot of spare time, and usually any spare time I have whilst travelling or something I will use to read but with this book if I knew I wouldn’t be travelling for long I actually didn’t pick up the book, and it’s not because it was so bad I didn’t want to spend my spare time reading it – quite the opposite actually – it was so good I knew that if I picked it up I wouldn’t be able to put it back down again and that wasn’t an option, I had to put it back down again so I could do the things I needed to do.

If you don’t read The Maze Runner then you are seriously missing out on a fantastic reading opportunity! I think people of all ages would enjoy this book because it’s so unique and different.

5/5 stars, definitely!

My Favourite Part: All of it! Every single page! One of the best books I’ve read in a very long time!

Warning: This book contains violent, upsetting and sometimes scary scenes.

Other Books In The Series: The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, The Kill Order, The Maze Runner Files (e-book special)

Other Books By The Author: Infinity Ring Book 1: A Mutiny In Time, The 13th Reality Series, The Jimmy Finch Saga,

Other Information: The Maze Runner was turned into a film in 2014 by Twentieth Century Fox. The film is rated a 12A and stars Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf, 2011), Kaya Scodelario (Moon, 2009), Will Poulter (We’re The Millers, 2013) and Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Nanny McPhee, 2005). For more information on the film click the link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790864/?ref_=nv_sr_1