The Maze Runner

By: James Dashner

If you liked the Hunger Games, you will love this!

This dystopian, sci-fi trilogy is written through the eyes of Thomas, a teenager sent into an unknown place, surrounded by maze. Inside this prison-like space, (only) boys around his age live with their leader Alby, who was the very first arrival to the maze.  

The story starts off with Thomas' arrival in The Box, making friends, and getting use to life. But some of the boys there feel something has changed with his arrival: he is too curious about the world around him. The Grievers (mutants who guard the maze) seemed to have multiplied and become more powerful, and after years of thriving in peace, everyone is met with the goal of survival, but it would soon become harder and harder, especially with a new arrival in The Box....

Will Thomas survive, or die from his extreme scepticism and curiosity?

How does he know that Alby is trustable?

Will they ever escape alive from The Maze?

In 2014, the movie was released for this series, but I would totally recommend reading it first because it isn't always what you would imagine looks like! James Dashner's writing often involves a lot of visualisation and imagination, because the entire book is very unique: His idea's are very exquisite and not similar to any other dystopian book i've read. 

Unlike series' like Divergent, there is little-to-no romance in it, and since it is told in third person, it can sometimes be hard to keep track of people's thoughts. (I like to write down something I associate with each character to help me remember). The third person perspective isn't very general in terms of characters: It focuses almost exclusively on Thomas, and I find it very interesting that James did that! I had never read that in any book!

There are lots of plot twists, which lead to your imagination running wild! It was so much fun to  read, and it was very hard to put down. Thank you so much to James Dashner for writing such an amazing trilogy!

Happy Reading!

-Petra

EXTRA INFO: There are two prequels: The Kill Order, and The Fever Code. The order is: The Maze Runner, Scorch Trials, and The Death Cure. (I would recommend reading the prequels after finishing the trilogy)

To see some age ratings click here https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/the-maze-runner-maze-runner-trilogy-book-1/user-reviews/adult

Some adults say it would be for an audience of 11+, others say 16+. Some parts are a bit violent, but nothing I (as an advanced reader for my age) haven't seen. 

For the content, I would say 13+, but for the literature value, (the wording, context, writing overall) I would say 11+. It was an easy read. (Parts in the second and third book include zombies, guns, and medicines/unknown chemicals). 

A comment on the website sad "Read it before your children do" and I agree, so you can judge depending on the level and maturity of the next readers.

Enjoy! :)