*The Maze Runner (book)

“The Maze Runner”

I like adventure books and I sure was not disappointed with The Maze Runner. I am twelve years old girl and usually like to read fantasy but enjoy sci-fi too. The Maze Runner is mostly a science fiction book and if you don't like the whole aspect of sci- fi then you may enjoy the book.

The Maze Runner is about a kid named Thomas who got sent to the Glade, a sanctuary in the middle of a huge maze. The minute Thomas gets there he wants to be a runner even after he knows all the risk runners take to go into the maze. The second day Thomas is there the leader and the main runner go into the maze and don’t make it back by the time the maze closes. As Thomas sees the doors close he catches a glimpse of them and makes the most dangerous choice to go into the maze. Will he make it back when the girl arrives the next day and changes everything?

The Maze Runner had its pros and its cons. The pros are, the book had a really good setting. A sanctuary of sorts in the middle of this huge dangerous maze is very original. I enjoy slang that is made up such as muggle from Harry Potter. There were definitely new slang that made added to the story such as klunck, which is my favorite. The characters were really well developed and realistic. They had good and bad qualities like they should. I liked how the main characters just met each other because then I get to decide if they are bad or good for myself instead of them already being “classified”.

What I didn't like is that James Dashner, the author, barely if at all used foreshadowing. The authors should hint what is going to happen next in the story but that did not happen in this story. Such as how in Harry Potter in the beginning Harry talked to a snake, foreshadowing that something later in the book and/or series would involve a snake. In the book things happened with no rhyme or reason which bugged me, but some may like the surprise. What he could have also added was less showing and more telling.

I would rate this a three out of five stars. The Maze Runner was not perfect so it did not deserve a five, and because of the lack of foreshadowing it did not get a four. But I did enjoy it and the characters were realistic and well developed so it did not deserve a two. I do think The Maze Runner was worth how much I had to pay.