In 2009, the first novel of The Maze Runner series was published. It is a series written by James Dashner that contains six novels, two of which are prequels and one is a companion book that accompanies the original three.

During the first book, The Maze Runner, I thoroughly enjoyed the excitement throughout the plot. Every time I thought that it would be a good place to stop, something else happened that would make the book harder to put down. This book had many different themes but one, in particular, spoke out of all the rest, bravery. This book exhibits multiple acts of bravery by a teenage boy named Thomas, the main character and hero of the story, he defies the laws of the maze and spends a dangerous night inside to save his friends. This is something that none of the other boys had the courage to do. They were all afraid of the Grievers ( a monster that is both a robot and a spider that roams the maze at night). I also feel like another theme present in the film would be cooperation. This is because when the characters disagree with one another something worse happens; but when they finally start to work together, they solve the mysteries of the maze.

The Maze Runner is about a teenage boy named Thomas, who is trapped inside of a maze with fifty other boys and one girl. They call themselves the Gladers. They arrive there not knowing anything, clueless about their life before the maze. The only thing they know is their names. Thomas ended up venturing into the maze and successfully killed a Griever while he was inside, something that had never been done before. When the other Gladers found out that he survived and killed a Griever, they regained hope that they would find a way out. More and more clues and influences arose causing the Gladers to enter the maze in the hope to find a way out. The Gladers eventually found their way out after many difficult challenges and begin to learn of their lives before the maze. The Gladers learn that an organization named WICKED was responsible for placing them inside of the maze. They soon realize that there was a devastating ecological disaster that caused an outbreak of disease. WICKED hoped to raise children in the harsh environment of the Maze so that they would be better prepared to face the challenges of the real world.  The novel ended with a major cliffhanger leaving the reader with an anticipating beginning for the next novel. 

In the end, I loved this book and can’t wait to read the next one. I really recommend this book to middle and high school students. It appeals to the adventurous kind of reader, this is a fictional reader’s must-have.

Edited by Hannah Niver