Yey or Nay?

Maze Runner- Cal, Buck, Andrew, Corrie, Langton, John, Richard

The members of our group felt there were many positive aspects of The Maze Runner. One item we liked was the social structure presented in the book because it was similar to the social climate of a school or business.  Even though the society in the book was dystopian, it was not much different than the societies of today.  For example, in the book, there were different social structures.  This was illustrated by the sections in which people worked.  Each section had a leader, who was known as “the keeper.”  This is not dissimilar to the social structures of today’s world.  A school is a good example.  Each school has different classes, which can be considered sections, and each section has leaders.  The same is true for a business.  Each business has different departments in which employees work.  In each department, there are department heads or supervisors who lead the department.  Thus, we could readily identify with the social structures of the book.

A second aspect of the book we liked was the author’s descriptions of the characters and the Glade. Through the descriptions, it was easy for members of our group to relate to and like many of the characters.  For example, Cal related to Alby because he felt they both possessed leadership abilities.  Buck related to Minho, because he felt they shared the qualities of strength, intelligence, and creativity.  Higgin related to Chuck because he felt they both did not always “fit in,” but they tried to be good friends and put others before themselves.   Through the descriptions of the characters, we felt we “knew” them.  The same is true about the Glade.  Through the descriptions of the Glade, we felt we knew how it looked and what the characters faced while inside it. This made the book easy to follow.

Another aspect of the book we enjoyed was the fact that the author ended every chapter with a "hang," which made us want to keep reading. This kept the momentum of the book going and held our interest. 

While the above describes the ways in which we liked the novel, there were also some aspects of it we disliked.  First of all, several of us felt the book began very slowly, and it took a while for it to spark our interest.  Another negative aspect of the book was that a few of our favorite characters died, which left us disappointed.  Even though we enjoyed the fact that the chapters ended in a “hang,” we didn’t like the fact that the book also ended that way.  This gave us no resolution or closure.  Instead, we found we will have to read all of the books in the series in order to reach the end.  That was another disappointment.

Overall, the members of our group enjoyed the book.  We liked the characters, the plot, and the action.  Based on those aspects, we would recommend it.  However, we would caution prospective readers that, if they want the story resolved at the end of the first book, they will be disappointed.  To gain closure, they will have to read all of the books in the series. While this wouldn’t bother some readers, it would bother others, as it did many of the members of our group. In addition, the book is better suited for male readers because it deals with interactions among males almost exclusively, and it focuses on strength, athleticism, and male relationships.  While this may interest some female readers, we didn’t feel it is the type of book typically read by adolescent females.