Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Review Copy Provided by Publisher (via Shelf Awareness)
Parental Warning: mild violence (ie: children getting injured)

Summary:
It’s dark, cold and damp when young Thomas awakens in an elevator like box.  Frightened to discover that he’s in a place that is completely foreign to him he’s even more disconcerted by the fact that he has absolutely no recollection of who he is or where he came from.  Upon his release from the lift he finds himself in the company of a rag tag group of boys.  Disoriented, starving and still unsure of his surroundings Thomas begins his attempt to figure out what (or who) has brought him to this place.  Unfortunately, those he now finds himself living with are less than forthcoming with answers to his many questions.

In short order, however, Thomas befriends several local leaders and the occasional social misfit whereby he learns the name of his new home.  He is now officially an inhabitant of The Glade — a small parcel of land enclosed by giant unscalable walls. These aren’t just any walls though, they are designed to open and close based on a schedule set by an unknown governing party.  Though these powers that be are unfamiliar The Gladers have come to rely on them for food and other critical supplies to keep them alive.   Conforming to a rigidly structured schedule the boys have the timing of when the doors rotate and when each new product is to arrive.

Not the least of the arrivals are new Glade inhabitants.  All arriving without memories of their past and each as scared of the unknown as those landing before.  In order to assure their survival, and hopefully to determine why they are there, each boy takes on a job in a particular sector — food, medicine, security, etc.  Thomas is run through the gauntlet of each until he determines that what he wants most is to be part of the coveted group called the maze runners.  You see, outside the walls of The Glade there is a giant and ever changing maze.  Convinced that if they are able to map the maze or determine a pattern of it’s consistent changes the Gladers would find a way to their freedom and ultimately win their lives back.

The Maze Runner is Thomas’ story of attempting to do just that.

Opinion:
The Maze Runner is fabulous dystopian fare.  A book I’d highly recommend to readers young and old.  It’s suspenseful plot and interesting characterizations making it a fun, entertaining and don’t stop until you finish read.

One of the elements I enjoyed most was the setting Dashner dropped the boys into.  He has created a location in The Glade that allows the reader the luxury (or in this case discomfort) of feeling the space around them.  It is complete sensory perfection as we experience every painful ridge along with Thomas and The Gladers.  It’s a cold and dank place of confinement that unsettles both it’s inhabitants and the reader.

Further, the book had a very Lost Boys vibe to it. Each character had a degree of individuality of mind and spirit, each had their role as a cog or wheel, that it was quite easy to differentiate between them without confusion setting in. Of all characters I found the protagonist Thomas to be of most consequence.  He was courageous, empathetic, heroic and adaptable.  His ability to resolve problems and generate real solutions to forward the plight of The Gladers made him extremely rootable.  Moreover, he is a character that is appealing to boys, girls, young and old without being trite or overbearing.

If I were required to choose one irksome element of The Maze Runner I would have to say that the language Dashner created in lieu of using swear words was initially a bit much.  However, after some getting used to it turned out to be quite ingenious. That very small addition to the story went such a long way in creating community between the inhabitants of The Glade. It gave that added element of separation from what the reader knows as the real world while allowing the boys to be boys. It was one of the only times they were able to act their age.

Not wanting to spoil the larger surprises of the book I will say that I wasn’t disappointed when answers to some of the story’s larger scale questions and secrets were revealed.  The whys of hows of the Glade coming to be, the reasons for Thomas’ presence in it and many of the aspects of how the population potentially overcome the powers that be were all intriguing and suspenseful. I credit Dashner’s wonderful writing and ingenuity in composing a thoroughly entertaining story with fabulously well-developed characters.

I will certainly be picking up the follow-up to see what happens next.  Watch for book two, which I believe is called The Scorch Trials, in the next year.