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110 of 135 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Decent Read Though Not Very Thought Provoking, August 26, 2009
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I first heard about this book at an SCWBWI conference where its editor from Delacorte spoke highly of how it grabbed her attention right away.
I have to agree. The one thing that Dashner does right from start to finish is barely provide enough information to answer the questions that form in the reader's mind BUT what information he gives does promote one to keep reading.
Curiosity drove me to read this book straight through...that and the fact that the writing wasn't all that challenging.
I'm not trying to bag on Dashner, but I was a little surprised at the many passed-on opportunities he had to draw me further into the story or even care more about the characters' fates .
I felt consistently disappointed with what I was offered of Thomas's character -- far too sulky and desirous of screaming at people who can hardly offer him the answers, etc. he's so desperate for. And Teresa, for as important as she's made out to be, is so flat. I think it was well within the author's scope to improve the depth of these characters considering the decent job he did on secondary characters like Chuck and Minho.
By the time I reached the end, I all but rolled my eyes. I felt roughly the same as I did when I finished watching 'The Cube'...interesting story, but what was the point of putting the characters through all that? Especially when the characters themselves hardly spend any real time trying to understand their situation. And this latter part actually seems quite critical to the purpose of the situation they're in.
Okay, I know this is meant to be YA but it certainly had room to grow in the 'thought provoking' department. It's a decent and entertaining story, but will it become the topic of critical academic discussion? Not likely.
It's far too light in depth and development as it stands. Perhaps the eventual trilogy as a whole will provide something 'more'.
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38 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great idea, weak characters, November 17, 2009
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
A hundred or so teenage boys, their memories wiped, are trapped in the center of a gigantic shifting maze, many miles across. As the book begins, Thomas arrives in the "Glade" -- the center of the maze, where they all live. The next day the first girl ever shows up too. And everything begins to change.
While living in the center of a giant ever-changing maze full of monsters is an extremely odd way to live, the boys have made do. After two years, they have a ruling council, they grow food, raise animals, and look after any sick or injured. They also send out trained runners to map the maze every day, in search of an exit, or a pattern, or some clue as to what they're doing here.
With the arrival of Thomas and the girl, the Gladers' carefully-crafted order begins to break down. Now solving and escaping the maze is immediately necessary. Fortunately, Thomas isn't quite like all the other Gladers, and is able to help.
The premise is great, and the plot moves well. There's a lot of action and the tension constantly builds. Unfortunately, the story failed in two important aspects for me.
First, the the maze itself is so absurd, the final explanation had better be pretty impressive for the story to hang together. And at least for me, the explanation was not plausible. Though, at least there *is* an explanation, which is more than can be said for some stories I've encountered!
The second weakness was the characters. I'd be okay with a somewhat implausible scenario if the characters were likable enough. But, Thomas is bland and whiny, and his only moments of greatness arise from his forgotten past. The other boys are mostly hostile and uninteresting. Not, mind you, that I expect deep, sophisticated personalities from amnesiac teenage boys! They were all believable, but they weren't compelling enough to carry the story. Neither was the new girl very interesting. Thomas is attracted to her, but again, that's an artifact of his past, not a real live reaction that we get to watch develop.
Overall, it was a fun read, and I don't regret the time spent, but I won't look for the sequels.
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39 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
My high hopes have been broken...., April 4, 2010
Lately, I've been really into the YA dystopian books. I blindly picked up The Hunger Games last summer and loved it. I've since read Forest of Hands and Teeth, Birthmarked, Adoration of Jenna Fox, The Host, and a few others, all of which I enjoyed. I like stories that are not noticeably YA, except maybe for the absence of vulgarities and sex. It was very obvious to me that The Maze Runner was a YA book, which for some, may not matter. But for me, it lacked the depth and intricacies that make or breaks a story.
I was absolutely excited for The Maze Runner after reading the Amazon reviews, but this is the very first time I've been so sorely disappointed when picking up a book due to other reviewers' enthusiasm. I had a hard time getting through The Maze Runner. There were a few times it interested me to keep reading, but for the most part I could only read it for a 1/2 hour at a time, when usually I could read for hours on end. Towards the middle I started skimming and reading dialogue to push myself through the bland writing.
I wasn't emotionally invested in any of the characters, and had a really tough time picturing a lot of it, especially the grievers, which I blame on the writing. The new words to substitute for swears were annoying, and the characters very flat. I thought the ending was predictable and lackluster. This book might really work for some but I really, really didn't like it at all.
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