The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
★★★★☆ 

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.
Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every thirty days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.
Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

I liked this book for the fact that it was different from other dystopias. The concept of being stuck in a maze with grievous monsters and no memories is pretty unique and I thought it was done well. The beginning of the book bothered me like hell, since I had no idea what was going on and no one seemed forthcoming with information, but at the same time it was brilliant of Dashner to write it that way, as I’m sure Thomas didn’t like it much either. 
Once I got a feel for what was happening, I started to enjoy the book much more. Some of the characters, like Gally, seemed very one-sided, but overall they were written well. I thought Thomas and Teresa’s characters were written especially well and that all of the Gladers seemed human. 
The final chapter threw me for a loop, and I’ll definitely be reading the next book in the series.

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