The Maze Runner
2009
- fiction
- science fiction
- amnesia
- cooperativeness
- labyrinths
- juvenile fiction
- children's fiction
- amnesia, fiction
- mazes
- escapes
The story
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he's not alone. When the lift's doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade--a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. Just like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they've closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift. Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up--the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind. From the Hardcover edition.
What it’s like
Taut, breathless prose that lives in short sentences and sudden cuts, with the claustrophobia of enclosed space pressing on every scene. The sensory world is built from stone walls, dust, thin grass and the grind of heavy doors that open each dawn and shut each dusk, with the maze's shifting corridors rendered as dread and blind turns rather than lush scenery. The voice is close and anxious, mostly a teenager's wary, practical eye on a group of boys trying to make sense of a place that has no logic. Its vibe is tense and restless, a puzzle-box mood of mounting unease tinged with camaraderie. The pace is brisk and escalating, with chases, sudden reversals and a steady drip of mystery that keeps pulling the reader forward. The emotional register runs from wary loneliness to fierce loyalty, following a boy who arrives with no past and slowly finds a place among others who are as lost as he is. Violence is present and reasonably frequent: fights, injuries, and creatures that attack with real menace, though it stays short of graphic gore. It suits a fast commute, a weekend read with the lights on, or a reader who wants a page-turner full of momentum. It is for young adult readers and adults who want a propulsive, mystery-driven adventure with a clear sense of stakes.
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