My actual rating.. 4.7

This tells you how it all began...why Thomas, Teresa and the rest of the Gladers ended up in the Maze, how the "Flare" began and how the world descended into chaos. In true James Dashner fashion there are the jaw dropping, breath drawing moments that will stick with you and leave you wanting more. It is full of action, fast paced and gives you answers but brings up more questions as well. At the end, I just want one more book...one more to take what occurs at the end through the preparation for the Maze, the first days in the Glade etc. Come on Dashner I know you have it in you!

I love the new characters we are introduced to. Mark, Trina, Alec, Deedee, etc. Their journey from the Flares through the beginnings of the disease, is shocking. You wonder how they can they suffer so much and still have the will to keep going and keep fighting, but yet they do.

One more crucial detail...unbeknownst to many there is a secret chapter...locked away in the pages of a Barnes and Noble special edition that holds a key link, a key answer to a detail many will guess at while reading but find unconfirmed in the regular edition of the book. I won't reveal it here, but find this edition and read it!