Caitlin Scarpa

The Maze Runner summary and review

*WARNING SPOILERS*

The Maze runner, by James Dashner, is a book about a young man named Thomas who is thrown into a confusing world full of unfamiliar people and monstrous creatures.  These people are all boys of around the same age, and they all have no memory of who they really are; all they know is their name.  All of these young men were placed into a giant maze full of terrifying creatures, called Grievers, and they have to find a way to get out.  The only way out is through the maze.  The Grievers: giant slug like creatures with mechanical spikes jutting out in every direction, are what's keeping them from escaping.  The maze doors open every morning and the grievers leave, but every night the maze doors close and the grievers come out to play with anyone who didn’t make it to the door in time.  The only ones who are brave enough to go in the maze are “the runners.”  The runners are the people who run through the maze and try to track its movements to find a way out.  The maze itself moves every night and forms a new shape, making it harder to track and map out.  The boys aren't making any new progress until Thomas shows up, and everything changes.

The book The Maze Runner was heavily inspired by The Lord of the Flies, which we are going to read later in the year, so there will most likely be many similarities.  The boys who are sent to the maze were sent there by a government group called WICKED.  WICKED is trying to study them to find a cure for a disease, called the Flare, which is plaguing the rest of the world, making them into zombie like creatures.  Almost all of the boys in the maze are immune to the disease, which is why they are being studied, they want to see what makes them immune and try to replicate it in others. Every month, one boy is sent into the maze by WICKED, and when Thomas shows up, the whole maze starts to change.  Only a few days after Thomas arrives, a girl, named Teresa, is dropped off by WICKED, she is the only female to ever be sent to this maze.  This is what triggers the “end of the trials.”  The whole maze is sent into dire situations and deadly circumstances.  All of the kids are now facing the clock to find a way out of the maze, and Thomas is the only one who has been able to make any progress in the escape.  

Thomas gets help from a few other people trapped in the Maze including, Minho, Newt, Alby, Chuck, Frypan, and Teresa.  With all of their separate strengths and abilities, they are able to solve the puzzle and find a way out.  

The book series is full of adventure and excitement that really keeps you on the edge of your seat. There are five books in the series so far, The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, The Kill Order, and The Fever code. All of the books help to elaborate on the story and really make the world feel real.  The Kill Order and The Fever Code are both Prequels, which help to shine some light on what the world is facing and why WICKED is experimenting on children to cure the disease. It also helps to give different points of view for the story, and what different people living in the world might think of WICKED and what they are doing.   The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, and The Death Cure are all part of the main story, following Thomas and his friends through the trails and their escape from WICKED.   While reading the books myself, I came to love the characters and the story, which fascinated me and made me want to keep reading.  As with any good book, this one contains lots of very happy and very sad moments which send the reader on a roller coaster of emotions, which only makes the reader more immersed in the story.

Even though the book series was phenomenal, the movies were disappointing for anyone who is a fan of the books, for various reasons.  Many scenes and events of the story were cut out in order to make it have more action scenes, which ruined elements of the story.  If this series seems interesting to you, then I suggest giving the books a try first, and holding off on the movies until later.  I would suggest this book to anyone who is a fan of non-stop adventure, suspense, mystery, and action.  

Work Cited

Dashner, James. The maze runner. New York: Delacorte Press, 2009. Print.