This review should have had a clever title, but the writer is lame.

By Ashley M.

James Dashner is a well known author for young adults. He has written many series including The Jimmy Fincher Saga, The 13th Reality, The Infinity Ring, The Mortality Doctrine, but his most famous series is The Maze Runner. In the first book of the series, titled The Maze Runner, a group of boys who find themselves living in a mysterious compound, have to figure out how to escape and go back to the lives they no longer remember.

One by one, teenage boys arrive at a secluded area they call "The Glade" with all of their memory wiped except for their name. They have no idea where they are, how they got there, and cannot find a way out. Alby and Newt, the leaders of the group, are in charge of making sure everyone does their jobs. The most important jobs are the Runners.  The boys believe that the way out of the Glade is in that Maze and the Runners are the people who try to find the exit. They survive with monthly shipments of food and supplies from the strange elevator box in the field.

When Thomas arrives at the Glade, everything starts to change. The gates to the Maze, that protect them from strange, terrifying creatures called Grievers, stop closing at night. They stop receiving food from the elevator and for the first time ever, a girl shows up. This girl, Teresa, has an explainable bond with Thomas, almost like they knew each other before they showed up at the Glade. They can speak with each other in their minds. The rest of the boys think she is crazy so they lock her up, but Thomas can tell there is something special about her.

The boys and Teresa, fight off  the Grievers, try to survive with the little supplies they have left, as they are the closest they've ever been to finding how to escape.

Although this book was confusing at times with the way the boys spoke with made up terms like "Shank" or "Greenie", I found that it was an interesting story line with well developed characters and a great plot. There are many riveting twists and turns that keep the book full of surprises.

The book's ending, leaving you with a dramatic cliffhanger, definitely made me want to read the rest of the trilogy. If you are looking for a book keeps you on the edge, itching to find out what happens next, I recommend reading The Maze Runner.

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner, Delacorte Press, 2009, 375 pages