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Friday, February 12, 2010

Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner + Giveaway!

The Maze Runner


Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Speculative Fiction - Dystopia
Edition: Hardcover; (Won) Publisher
Page Count: 374
Pub. Date: October 6, 2009
Series: The Maze Runner Trilogy, Book 1

Reading Challenge: Young Adult, Speculative Fiction

My Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
Amazon.com: 4.5 stars
Goodreads: 4.03 (Average)

Recommended For: YA readers. Fans of high adrenaline dystopian novels with plenty of twists and excitement.

My Summary & Thoughts:

Thomas wakes up surrounded by nothing but his breath and cold darkness. Suddenly, after what feels like hours of a slow ascension, he sees the light. (No, not THAT light.) A cold metal box is taking him up to a place so vastly different from anything he's ever experienced - that is if he could actually remember anything besides his name. He can remember vague images, people, and items but they quickly slip away like his brain matter is leaking out of his head. Hands grab him and soon he is standing in the middle of what is called The Glade, surrounded by a mass of boys.

Like Thomas, none of the boys remember how or why they are there. The only facts are these: every 30 days a new boy arrives, and every morning the stone doors leading into the maze open and every night, they close. And no one wants to be caught outside in the maze after dark.

Alliances are made, as well as enemies, and Thomas is kicked head first into an awful, yet fairly organized community, considering the circumstances. The basic rule being: Pull your weight and you survive. Every morning Thomas watches as the runners take off into the abyss of the maze - trying to find a means of escape - and every time they come back empty handed. That's assuming they survived the maze in the first place. Soon, Thomas gets a feeling that being a runner is a job he was destined to do.

But just when life starts to settle down, everything starts to change. Thomas and the Gladers realize that it's time to find a way out once and for all or they're going to be in deep klunk.

Oh man, as much as I want to keep going, I simply cannot reveal any more of the awesomeness ready to spring at you within the pages. James Dashner did a spectacular job at creating a scenario that just sucks you in. Just when you think it's safe to put the book down for the night (if you can) you are suddenly faced with dire situations and there is just no way you can stop reading. I loved all the characters created in this story. Even the nasty ones. They were easy to like (or dislike) in all their vitality and what they offered to the adventure. And the twists kept me flipping pages till my eyes hurt; all accompanied by the occasional whispered chorus of "OhMyGod".

Overall consensus: Bold and daring. The Maze Runner is one wild tale about perseverance and the will to survive. About coming together with a band of unknowns, despite all differences, and working together to solve the seemingly impossible puzzle of the maze. Once you think you have it all figured out, think again. Talk about one mad adrenaline rush from start to finish. I cannot wait for the next installment!



CLOSED

THE GIVEAWAY


Thanks to Random House, one lucky winner will receive a brand-new hardcover edition of The Maze Runner to read and enjoy!

To enter, all you have to do is:

FILL OUT THE FORM


Simple right? I decided to forgo extra entries this time. Open to US & CANADA RESIDENTS ONLY. GIVEAWAY ENDS MARCH 1ST!

14 comments:

Melissa (i swim for oceans) said...

Brilliant giveaway! I absolutely adored this book, but I was poor and only got it from the library...I'd love the chance to win it! Brilliant review, by the way :)

Tales of Whimsy said...

Oh wow. Amazing review. I can't wait to read it. Thank you for the contest.
:)
*fingers crossed*

Anonymous said...

Oooh, I've been wanting to read this one. Thanks for hosting a giveaway :)

Justine said...

Oh, amazing! I've always wanted to read The Maze Runner. There's been some good talk about this. Thanks for the giveaway! :)

Danielle Zappavigna said...

sounds great, i'll have to check it out!

Anonymous said...

I've had this one on my wishlist for a while now. I've heard nothing but good things about The Maze Runner. I can't wait to get my hands on this book !

Monster of Books said...

Thanks for hosting the contest, and awesome review of it :) I've heard good things of this book!!

Unknown said...

I really want my own finished copy!!! Thanks for the chance! :D If I win I promise I'll give my ARC away to someone else! hehe ;)

Violet said...

Very nice review. Thank you for hosting this giveaway! :)

Bere said...

Great review. I've been wanting to read this book for a while, sounds great!
Thanks for the chance to win it =)

Susan said...

oh I would love to read this! thanks for the chance to win!

Cecelia said...

I don't need to be entered in the contest, but I wanted to tell you that this is a fantastic review! I like that you've let us know about the action and suspense, but not spoiled anything... *grin*

E.J. Stevens said...

Great review! I would love a chance to win. :)

June G said...

I really want to read this book. Please forgive me if I've filled out the form before. I can't remember if I did and I see no way to check. :-)
Your review is great and just made me more interested!

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