Book Review: The Maze Runner

TITLE: The Maze Runner
Book 1 in the Maze Runner Trilogy
AUTHOR: James Dashner
PUBLISHED: 2009
CATEGORY: Young adult
GENRE: dystopian, adventure
PREMISE: Thomas awakens to find himself in a giant monstrous maze with a group of teenagers and no memories.
MY REVIEW: I've heard nothing but praise for this series and while I think some of the praise is a little exhaggerated, it's well deserved. Dashner has a solid book here. I will say, I found the characters two-dimensional (particularly Thomas who is such a Gary Stu) but that's to be expected with these sort of books that focus on the action and developments rather then character. Plus, I sometimes felt Dashner was trying a bit to hard to be edgy, but that's a personal feeling and not neccessarily true. I'll also say it: it's Hunger Games combined with Lord of the Flies, minus the cannibalism. So yeah, not terribly original.
Overall however, this is a very good book and I see why there's a lot of hoopla. It's exciting and hooks you from the start. Dashner has created an intriguing idea here that makes you excited to see what happens next. While it maybe is not on the same level as Hunger Games, it is still excellent and I can't wait to get my hands on Scorch Trials. I also think I'll look into Dashner's other series, the 13th Reality.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of dystopian novels, fans of The Hunger Games, fans of Lord of the Flies, boys
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five grievers