The Maze Runner by James Dashner [book]

The Maze Runner by James Dashner [book]

400 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press; 2009, Reprint edition, August 24, 2010
Language: English
ISBN: 0385737955

Plot Summary:
Thomas is a young man that wakes up in an elevator with no memory at all before he is transported into a world that he does not understand and a language that is foreign to him. In the new world that is called the Glade, Thomas learns that every month a boy has arrived as he has and that they are in a confined area surrounded by walls that close at night. When the walls are open there is a maze that is outside of the entrapment that stretches forever and the walls shift every night, and they welcome the Grievers. The Grievers are hideous monsters that kill any boy that they can capture- they do not come out during the day, but instead stalk the maze by night preventing anyone from staying in the maze over night. If anyone is stuck by a Griever they must take an antidote that changes them but only gives them partial memory of their past life.
The boys have created a society in which everyone has a role and Thomas believes that his is to figure out the maze and become one of the runners. The day after Thomas arrives, Teresa arrives (the first girl) and falls into a coma. In the events that follow Thomas spends a night in the maze and is able to make it back alive and with a plan. He becomes a runner and they start to make maps of the maze in order to figure it out, but they are running out of time. Grievers start to visit the Gladers every night and take one as they go, so they are in a battle against time to escape. Eventually they are able to decipher the maze and make a mad dash to the exit in which they must battle a number of Grievers. Once they escape they are confronted with the operators and one of them attempts to kill Thomas but fails when one of the boys jumps to save Thomas' life. In the end you are left with the idea that it is not the end for the boys, it is just the beginning.
Critical Evaluation:
I really enjoyed the language that was used in this book, it was fresh and new and really gravitated towards how all of the boys thought and felt. It shows that they are still boys even though they have to act like adults in order to get out of their situation. The characters relationships are interesting because the boys have created a society in which they must assign tasks and be organized- they even have a council. It shows the power struggle between trusting Thomas and Teresa and trying to get by the Grievers. They all have a tenuous hold on reality and in this you can see that some of them are not aware of what their real thoughts are. I liked the action filled plot and I thought that the book moved at a good pace, although it did drive me a little crazy to constantly be questioning every characters move. It was a nice touch to give the reader the same point of view of Thomas in being introduced to the new world with him (because of his amnesia).

Reader's Annotation:
Thomas arrives in a world of nightly horror in which he cannot remember his past life. He must try to unfold the story of how to get out of this new life, and the appearance of the first girl to the new world has now changed everything.

Websites to look Into:
http://www.jamesdashner.com/

Awards:
New Hampshire Isinglass Teen Read Award (2010-2011)
Missouri Truman Readers Award (2011-2012)
New Jersey Garden State Teen Book Award (2012)
Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award (2012)
Georgia Peach Book Award for Teens (2012)
NYSRA Charlotte Award (2012)
Florida Teens Read! Award (2011-2012)

Similar Books:
"The Scorch Trials" by James Dashner
"The Death Cure" by James Dashner
"The Kill Order" by James Dashner

Booktalking Ideas:
A comparison between the classic Lord of the Flies novel
A discussion about how the trilogy evolves

Genre:
Science Fiction

Interest Age:
13-19 yrs.

Challenge Issues:
Violence
This book does contain a lot of violent themes, both within the group of boys and with the outside world. I would combat this with the fact that they are trying to escape oppression in the novel and doing everything that they can do to survive.

Why this Book?
When I read this book, it really reminded me of Lord of the Flies meets Hunger Games. I thought that it was interesting and that the characters and plot very edgy, and that young adults would take interest in this book.