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The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1)
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Archive: Other Books > The Maze Runner, by James Dashner- 3 Stars

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message 1: by Joi (new) - rated it 3 stars

Joi (missjoious) | 3970 comments This was my Feb Decathalon book. Being on my TBR since May 5, 2011 (4 days after I joined Goodreads). I read a lot more dystopian YA 7 years ago than I do now....

I'm pretty in-the-middle on this. Deemed as "for fans of the hunger games"-maybe this phrase gave too much away of the plot. This is a dystopian young adult book. Very plot driven. Weak characters. It was pretty easy to tell where the book was going, but it was very entertaining for the ride. And the book left on a huge cliffhanger, so it did make me want to find out what is next in The Scorch Trials.

This is about Thomas, a young man who wakes up in an elevator not knowing anything about his past. He is risen to a group of young men who have formed a camp. There is a giant maze, and they have to figure out how to get out. It's pretty fun in the beginning because you, like Thomas don't know what is going on- we have to learn as he does the environment and what the maze is. But then the book has a lot of "revelations" that Thomas has (randomly/conveniently remembering memories) that got pretty old quickly. Everything seemed a little too convenient. But the plot always kept me wanting to read more. Each short chapter left with a mini-cliffhanger to keep you engaged.

The problem was every character was stereotypical and one dimensional. There was the "weak but lovable one", the "tough guy", the "girl", even our hero was flat. Plus the characters have their own slang that is grossly overused. Stupid words like 'schuckface' instead of curse words get old fast. Then you throw in a dash of telekinesis-and there was no way for this book to get any higher than 3 stars from me.


message 2: by Jason (new)

Jason Oliver | 3050 comments This has been recommended to me many times, but I have yet to even add to TBR. I feel eh about it.


message 3: by annapi (new)

annapi | 5505 comments I could not finish it. I read only a few chapters, and thought the dialogue was inane and corny. The whole thing felt terribly contrived. Felt the same way about Divergent, though I made it through that one. (I could not finish Insurgent.)


message 4: by Jason (new)

Jason Oliver | 3050 comments Annapi, Im with you on Divergent series. Divergent was eh. Good enough, idea decent and execution okay. Insurgent was stupid and then Allegiant was just plain horrible.


message 5: by Amy (new)

Amy | 12953 comments I read the Divergent trilogy to stay current with the teen scene. Agree with your dual assessment. Using teen culture connection as an excuse, I have read all four of Twilight, and all three of Hunger Games. But never the Maze Runner. Bought the first for my 15 year old, who finished Beartown and is 8 chapters in on Ready Player One. I figure you guys will tell me if a not to be missed comes along.


message 6: by annapi (new)

annapi | 5505 comments There's a lot of good YA out there, enough to keep current with teens. I loved Hunger Games. Mercedes Lackey writes good YA (mostly - she's had some dogs). I have no qualms about dropping dreck as I've read a lot of excellent material in the genre, which I really enjoy.


message 7: by Joi (new) - rated it 3 stars

Joi (missjoious) | 3970 comments I've read quite a few YA dystopian series- Hunger Games, Divergent, Matched, The Selection, and honestly this was on the lower end of all of them for me. I wouldn't add it to the TBR. But like most YA dystopian, they all end on cliffhangers so it makes me want to keep reading.

I really liked Divergent, but totally agree. For me the first one was good, the second was ehhh, and the third was stupid.


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