The Maze Runner

by James Dashner

Story summary: Thomas wakes up in an dark box, with absolutely no memory of his life at at all. The box is opened, and he discovers himself in a small community of male teenagers, surviving in a enclosed area, outside of which is a huge, inescapable maze full of monsters.

Thoughts: This reminded me a lot of what I liked best about LOST: you start knowing absolutely nothing about anything, and slowly gather bits of information, although that doesn't help you much since everything is so strange and weird, and every new clue reveals a whole new set of questions. There were also a lot of similarities to the Gone series by Michael Grant, with teenagers struggling to survive on their own (and mostly failing). However, it was quite a bit lighter than both of those in some ways. Mostly just light and fun (despite the somewhat gruesome deaths) and full of intriguing mysteries. I didn't become attached to any of the characters, and there wasn't exactly much depth. I'd like to continue the series some time to get more answers (hopefully--unless it's too much like LOST), but I'm not rushing out to get them immediately.

Grade: 3 stars