The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1) in YA and Beyond

Jan 02, 2014 Tommy Hancock rated it it was amazing

I'd say it's a 4 star book up until the final chapters that made me go *WAAAAAH!!!* and forced me to tack on the final star.

I recommend this book fully. To everyone. Especially you, reading this review.

P.S. Wipe that little smudge off your face. No the other side. There you go. That was distracting.

Are you still reading this? Go read this book, dag nabbit! ...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Erika rated it really liked it

Shelves: series, ya, dystopia, to-watch

This is the first book of the Maze Runner series and was a very good start to the trilogy.

Imagine you wake up inside of a box lifting you somewhere and the only thing you hear from above are voices of teenagers speaking with a weird slang, and you don't remember how you got there, what were you doing before, where do you live, who do you live with, how old are you, you don't remember anything at all except your own name. Weird, right?... Now imagine when you get out of that box and start demand This is the first book of the Maze Runner series and was a very good start to the trilogy.

Imagine you wake up inside of a box lifting you somewhere and the only thing you hear from above are voices of teenagers speaking with a weird slang, and you don't remember how you got there, what were you doing before, where do you live, who do you live with, how old are you, you don't remember anything at all except your own name. Weird, right?... Now imagine when you get out of that box and start demanding for some answers, all the people around you know or remember just as much as you do... creepy.

Well, this is the way this book starts. All this people know or have found out after years or months of being there is that they are in a place where the exits lead you to mazes which cannot be solved and those mazes at night are full of creatures or monsters called "the grievers" and the only way they can be safe from them is because the walls move at night closing the exits, but at the same time the walls in the maze also move. And these guys are there because every month in the same day and the same hour a new kid is delivered there in the box.

Ok, this book is really interesting because you don't know anything at all since the beginning and want to know more, want to discover all the secrets, are starving to realize what's really going on there. This becomes sometimes frustrating because they don't know anything, they have their memory wiped, and you get to discover it all little by little.

So basically, it's a time to solve secrets with this book.

When i was reading this, i couldn't help find some similarities, not a lot, but some things with the book Enclave, I feel like Ann Aguirre the author of Enclave ripped off some ideas from this book. It's not the same story but the way there's the maze outside with monsters in there, and how they have a society under control to preserve humanity, i don't know, it feels like borrowing of ideas for me.

About this society the kids have, it seemed incredible to me because even though these kids are young 15 or so and they don't know anything, they created a system that works to have all the situation under control, everyone has a job there, trying to find a way out or cultivating plants or being like doctors for people injured or sick, preparing food, etc. And they don't ever give up, they have been trying for years to find a way out, in the maze or anywhere without success and still they try it even if it seems hopeless, it's amazing.

What i don't really like is the way they discover some things, maybe, hopefully this will be something more interesting in the second book. (view spoiler)

In the end, it was good but i kinda figured out what was going to happen, so it wasn't surprise. But still am curious to see what happens in the next book. ...more

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Sep 01, 2011 aimee (aimeecanread) rated it really liked it

*EDIT*
Decreased the rating into 4 stars.

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Wow. This was a really good book! Even though almost all the characters are boys, I still got into this book. It was interesting from the first page, and it got way better when Teresa arrived. I loved Chuck and Minho, a little of Newt and Alby, they were all well developed and funny. (view spoiler)

I'm waiting for a paperback edition of the sequel, The Scorch Trials. I can't wait to see if Thomas ...more

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Sep 20, 2014 Saiber rated it liked it

Shelves: 2014

I read this book AFTER I watched the movie. The movie ending interested me so much that I had to see what happens next.

For some reason the cliffhanger in this book did not have the effect of the cinematic cliffhanger in the movie. It did not made me take up the next book and see what happened.

In some ways I felt the movie was better because it was fast paced and the plot wasn't dragging on for long. But the movie missed out some major character development. I mean the relationship between Thom ...more

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Jul 09, 2013 Amanda Allman rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-books, books-read-in-2013

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I don’t even know where to begin with this book. It was AMAZING and I cannot believe how long I’ve put it off.

I began reading this book with no prior knowledge of anything other than the main character’s name and what I read in the summary which was the best thing I could have done when reading it. I was taken on twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting, I found myself with so many goosebumps after the end of almost every chapter. That’s what I need in a book, to not ever get bored for even a se I don’t even know where to begin with this book. It was AMAZING and I cannot believe how long I’ve put it off.

I began reading this book with no prior knowledge of anything other than the main character’s name and what I read in the summary which was the best thing I could have done when reading it. I was taken on twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting, I found myself with so many goosebumps after the end of almost every chapter. That’s what I need in a book, to not ever get bored for even a second.

Thomas’ character was very interesting too. I never once suspected he helped design the maze but I did think he had SOMETHING to do with the Creators. It blew me away to know that him and Teresa were part of the designers and how they knew so much and that it took Thomas to go through The Changing just to remember everything. Which also… was freaky and creeped me.

The Changing and the Grievers seriously gave me the chills and I had to stop reading at one point so I didn’t wig out in the middle of the night. I was so shocked when Thomas went through with getting stung. He’s so self sacrificing which also made me realize that I hate knowing Dylan O’Brien is playing Thomas because I kept thinking about how Stiles Stilinski like Thomas was and comparing their characters and it just makes me even more excited for the movie!

My favorite character by far though was Chuck and it made me so mad when he died I almost through my Nook out the window and I’m not exaggerating. The kid was so likeable and looked up to Thomas so much and then he ran in front of the knife for him so Thomas could survive and I can’t with that. I needed him to live!

All in all, it took me two full nights and a few quick reads to finish this book and I can tell you it will take you on a ride that you will not believe. I’m in the middle of reading the Scorch Trials because this book as me on my toes at all times and hasn’t let me down once. Definitely a must read for everyone! Definitely 5 out of 5 stars for me. ...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Katie rated it really liked it

Although this book was slow at times, I really enjoyed the plot and all of the twists it contained. The characters were all really different from each other, which I found made the story more interesting. I couldn't really connect with Thomas, but I still liked him as a character. The main thing that drove my reading of this novel was the plot because I just wanted to find out if they would get out of that maze! James Dashner's writing was amazing, because the details of the Grievers and many ot ...more

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