Book Review: The Maze Runner

Happy Tuesday! So I know this book came out a while ago, and the movie is out now and I've heard lots of good things about it but this is the first time I've actually gotten a chance to read it. And I finished this book a couple of hours ago. If you haven't read the book already, here's a brief synopsis according to GoodReads:

"If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.
Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.
Everything is going to change.
Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run."

I will admit, I wasn't dying to read this book. I thought it was a book more geared toward guys, and that it wasn't going to be very interesting for a girl. Oh no, was I wrong. This book was fantastic! Right from the very beginning, James Dashner was able to set the hook. There was never a dull moment, never a boring lull that sometimes books have. It kept me at the edge of my seat, and when I read the last sentence, I was very angry with myself for not buying the rest of the books in the series right away. Dashner did a fantastic job keeping the reader interested. Every chapter ended with a cliffhanger, the end of the book being the biggest cliffhanger yet. 

To paint a better picture, the book starts out with Thomas waking up in the lift, like stated above. He arrives in the Glade, where there's a whole colony of boys living. He has no memory of his past, no idea where he is. And neither do the other boys there. The only thing they know is that there's a huge maze in the Glade, and that is the key to finding their way out. Every day the runners explore the maze, hoping to find a way out or a clue or something. 

After Thomas arrives, lots of strange stuff starts happening, including the arrival of the first girl ever in the short two year history of the Glade. I don't want to give away too much of the book, but I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good ol' fashioned YA Dystopian novel. If you liked the Hunger Games, I'm sure you'll enjoy this. 

Also, I know on GoodReads a lot of people have been saying that the writing wasn't very good. And while I'll agree, that wasn't why I kept reading. I kept reading because even though the writing style may not have been the best, the plot Dashner came up with was incredible. It was well thought out and creative. Plus there's the bit of new slang that the characters use, which was ultimately refreshing. Sometimes new, made up words are a lot of fun to read.