I want to start off by saying that I enjoyed this book a lot. I loved the story; it reminded me a little of a cross between Hunger Games and The Long Walk (by Stephen King) with a completely different sci-fi twist. What is great about the concept and how it was delivered is that it is highly intriguing and makes you want to just keep reading and try to unravel on your own what is going on before the characters do. I can best explain my feelings while reading it as I was reading a sci-fi story that I was also making into a detective story in my mind. And it definitely left me hanging enough to want to continue reading the series so all the pieces of the puzzle can come together so I can get the big picture of what is going on. I also was able to get a good idea of the settings (Maze, Glade) from the description that was given, which is important to me because I like to get good mental images while reading. Maybe I enjoyed the story so much because I have always been a big fan of sci-fi and if you aren’t into sci-fi you may not enjoy it as much. But I can honestly say it was a fun read for me.

Now for the bad. I feel like this book was rather simply written. It felt like Dashner’s choice of language could be novice at times and his description of peoples’ moods and the way he expressed their emotions was pretty basic (E.g. “He said in an excited manner” “He said absently”) and the made up slang used by the Gladers really did get on my nerves at times. Also, there was very little character development. By the end of the book I didn’t feel like I really knew and of the characters. I even had a hard time being sympathetic towards them at times when they were going through something tragic because I wasn’t emotionally attached to them at all. I also feel like the timing in the book was off. Gladers had been in maze for years working on it and someone new shows up and a few days later everything is solved. I get that Thomas had some connection but I also feel like the revelation was too fast and slightly anti-climactic. As far as the Grievers, I know a lot of people were unhappy with them but I am intrigued. I am holding out hope that they will be in the other books and that they will be explained more and actually have an interesting back-story.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. It is good for a quick read and not too intense in terms of making you over-think things or have to re-read passages. The story is interesting and moves quickly and the mystery behind everything makes you want to keep reading. I wish you could give half stars because I would give this book a 3.5. If I were judging on story concept alone I would easily give it a four but the problem I keep coming back to is the characters. I am the type of reader who loves to be pulled into the characters’ lives. I want to feel their emotions and I want to miss them when they are gone. So I think that makes me have to go with a three star but I am still going back and forth about if that is how I really feel or if I feel a four. So it may change the more I think. I am holding out hope that the next two books improve in that aspect and the storyline continues to be good.