The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I have been meaning to read this series for a very long time. As usual, newest releases have predominated priority of my TBR pile. Then, I saw the first movie and remembered I wanted to read the books. Still, other authors came out with books to read first. Then, popularity for the series resurged at our library, so I feel now is the time to know what my patrons are requesting. No more excuses. This novel is clearly geared to the border of middle grade and young adult, with parents being able to read it along with their children feasible.

So am I glad that I finally read it? Short answer: Yes. The long version of that answer: I am glad I read it so I can now give an honest opinion to those that ask me about the series. The pacing of the action is well developed, and you do really wonder who could possibly be doing this to children. The world as a whole, though, is just a touch too unbelievable.

This novel balanced on a knife's edge the entire time. I would become highly invested in the story and then be set back by just the most minor detail. Here are some examples:

Positive: Each teenager wakes up to the jolting of a pitch black elevator with memories of the world, geography, technology, and language, but not people, current events, or their own name. This manipulation of the human brain triggered some interest as to how the deletion could be so nuanced. 

Negative: To get around curse words, the author created a whole new language for the kids to use. You're putting lipstick on a pig here. The kids remember how to speak, why would they need made up words? 

Positive: Thomas feels a strong spirit guiding him to make good decisions. He seems to be able to manipulate crippling stress and isolation because of this presence.

Negative: This gut feeling seems to have a supernatural knack to punch through the amnesia. Two years of hyper intelligent kids running the maze, and it takes Thomas two weeks to instigate a solution.

Eventually we learn that the teens are chosen based on a very specific intelligence quota and super human ability to overcome stress so they can save humanity. This includes keeping their cool despite teenage hormones. They are clearly rats in a maze. The whole novel is one large stress test that is solved to unrealistically, and I think that is where I separate from the story. 

There are plenty of good things about this story to entertain a younger crowd--I can see where it would be good to teach younger people how to push through stress rationally and maintain a level head--but to my jaded older mind it was hard to accept the reality of the story with so much discontinuity.  Maybe I am just way too cynical.