Saturday, November 27, 2010

The Maze Runner by James Dashner



Thomas arrives in the Glade with no memory of his former life. He doesn't remember who his parents were or what he did to deserve to be sent to this strange place. He is the new "Greenie" that is sent to the Glade once a month. A new boy has arrived in the Glade each month for the past 2 years. Thomas is frustrated because he wants to know everything about the Glade, but nobody is willing to tell him anything on his first day.

The next day the box arrives again with another new arrival. This is an unheard of event. And even more unheard of is that the occupant of the box is a girl. She arrives in some kind of coma with a message crushed in her hand stating that she is the last ever to arrive in the Glade. She arouses enough to whisper that "Everything is going to change."

Thomas is soon told about the Maze that runners go into each day before the walls close on the Glade. They have gone into the Maze each day for the past 2 years looking for a way out. The only problem is that each night when the walls close to the Glade the pattern of the Maze changes. So it is never the same. Each runner must return before the walls close because creatures that the boys call Grievers come out at night. Nobody has ever survived the Grievers after being locked out at night.

Thomas soon realizes that for some reason he feels that he needs to be a runner. There is something that seems to be familiar about that job to him. When their weekly supplies are cut off and a Griever is found dead in the Maze the boys realize that things definitely are changing. When Thomas sees 2 boys coming back from checking on the dead Griever just as the walls are closing he goes out to save them. They spend a frightening night outside the walls fighting off the Grievers. They are the first boys that manage to survive until the walls are opened once again. This gains Thomas respect and the right to run the Maze. His first day out in the Maze seems so familiar to him. He wishes he remembered why.

When Theresa comes out of her coma her and Thomas realize that they have a gift of communicating with each other through telepathy. The more that things change in the Glade the more they all realize that they must find a way to escape and get revenge on the Creators. Theresa remembers that she and Thomas helped in the creating of the Maze but as she comes out of the coma her memory starts to disappear. Thomas must venture one desperate attempt in order to bring back his memory to save them all.

The Maze Runner was a fast-paced exciting read. It definitely leaves you hanging at the end so I must get my hands on the sequel!

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