Turner Garland

Turner Garland
The Maze Runner
James Dashner
Dystopian Fiction
Just Right
230

1. Right now in The Maze Runners everything has changed. For two years everything had been routine in the Glade, but since Tomas and Teresa showed up everything has gone to chaos. The normal sunny perfect temperate weather has gone to a gray color. With no more sun in the Glade growing plants will not be an option. The animals will all die off soon too without agriculture. The vanishing sun is not the Gladers  only problem, the weekly supplies stopped coming. At the same time on the same day the creators have sent up supplies, but for some reason they never show up. Despite the recent events, Thomas has to do his job as being a runner. Even without the sunshine, Minho and Thomas enter the maze on their daily exploration through the maze. Besides the grayish sky above them, the maze seems normal. The walls have done their usual shifts. When Minho and Thomas round a corner they spot a griever. Minho and Thomas decide to follow, because they have always wondered where they go at night so they follow it all the way to the cliff and then it disappears. This isn't the first time they have seen the grievers just disappear off the cliff, so Thomas and Minho are interested. After a few minutes of throwing rocks of the cliff in the direction where the griever has disappeared they find a small spot where the rock vanishes. Minho and Thomas are so confused but they know they have to head back and tell the others about their findings. As they return to the Glade they find everyone rushing around. Then Thomas realizes that the girl had woken up. The girl that had talked to him in his head.

2. So far I love this book. I can hardly put it down and when I do all I want to do is pick it back up and start reading it again. James Dashner makes every single chapter packed with suspense, action, and questions. At the end of almost every chapter there is a cliffhanger that leaves you dying to find out what will happen next. I love the way that the author gives the reader hints and clues and every chapter Thomas finds something new out that puts him one step closer to solving the maze. The characters in this book are very well developed. They each have their own personality that makes the book much more interesting to read. Order is one of the most important parts about the glade and the different personalities and different views from each character causes tension. These tensions between character makes the book much more interesting to read. I have never read any books by James Dashner, I really enjoy his style of writing and I am looking forward to read more from him.

3. The major theme that has been shown throughout the entire book is questions and answers. Although it has mostly been questions in Thomas's head, deeper into the story more answers are showing up. In the very beginning when Thomas was in the elevator going up to the maze, questions flooded his mind. Where am I? Why am I here? How did I get here? Some of those questions still have not been answered, but in the small time that Thomas has been at the Glade he has found out a lot. He even has a better understanding of the place than most of the other Gladers. Thomas has experienced many questions and answers since his stay at the Glade, but he is not the only one. All the strange things that have happened around the Glade since Thomas had shown up has given many of the Gladers many questions. When Minho and Thomas find the hole that the griever disappeared into has given them the answer to where the grievers go at night. With every answer though, it seems like even more questions come. What does it lead to? Am I seeing correctly? How is that possible? Questions and answers are a definite part in making this book so good.

4. I like a lot of the characters that have been introduced in this story but my favorite is Thomas. I admire Thomas's courage and especially his will. When he knows that he will most likely die, he still enters the maze to help save Minho and Alby. This shows a lot of will and a lot of courage. Another thing that I really like about Thomas is that he is very optimistic. When everyone else seems down and when they start to give up, he always pushes and dives himself and others to try and accomplish something. The Glade is a tough place and kindness seems like the last thing that everybody is worried about. Thomas, spends extra time and effort being kind to others and helping them out. I really like reading about Thomas and I admire a lot that he has done so far in this book.

5. My least favorite character in this story is Gally. He is always in a bad mood and he never appreciates anything or anybody. Many of the other Gladers don't like him and he is especially a jerk to Thomas. I think that you have to be plain mean to hate someone without any reason. Gally once threatened to kill Thomas when Thomas did't do anything to Gally. During a Keepers Meeting Gally threatens Minho for no reason at all. I don't understand Gally, I definitely cannot relate to him, and he's just a mean dude.

6. One of the reasons that I love this book is that almost anything could happen, but I have a few predictions of what  think is going to happen next. I think that After Minho and Thomas tell Alby and Newt that they had the "Griever Hole" that they will think they are lying. I think this because after Thomas and Minho had discovered this hole they really couldn't believe it themselves. If they had actually saw it and had a hard time believing it then I think that it will be even harder for the other Gladers. Another thing that I think will happen is, now that Teresa is awake I think she will meet Thomas. She already has given the Gladers hints and other information, so I think that her and Thomas might find something out about the maze. I think this because Thomas and Teresa have some sort of bond because she can talk to him inside their heads. They must have some sort of connection because Thomas also admitted to Newt that she seemed familiar. I am very curious to see if my predictions are true and to get back to reading one of my favorite books.