The Maze Runner
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Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to escape.
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Age
Add Age Suitabilityviolet_whale_33 thinks this title is suitable for 10 years and over
LIANGBAH thinks this title is suitable for 13 years and over
M_M_M thinks this title is suitable for 13 years and over
Lotte_ thinks this title is suitable for 15 years and over
themanman3 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 10 and 99
JessicaGMei thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 12 and 20
red_crocodile_191 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 13 and 18
blue_hummingbird_115 thinks this title is suitable for 10 years and over
bidbid thinks this title is suitable for 15 years and over
musical1999 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 10 and 18
Summaries
Add a SummaryWhen Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift. The Glade is surrounded by tall, stone walls with four massive openings. (Also referred to as doors) in the center of each wall. These doors close each night to protect them from the monsters that live in the giant maze beyond the Glade's walls. These monsters are called Grievers and attempt to sting the Gladers with their needles. If the Gladers get stung, they must be given a special antidote called the Grief Serum and undergo a painful process called the Changing in order to survive. Gladers who have gone through the Changing claim to gain memories into their lives before the Maze. The walls to the maze move every night so there is a different maze outside each door every day. The day after Thomas arrives in the Glade, another person is sent up in the Box, the elevator that regularly brings new people and supplies to the Glade. Only boys live in the Glade, but to their surprise, a girl, Teresa, is sent up in the Box. They were also surprised because it was the first time someone new had been brought to the Glade in less than a month. She brings with her a message that she will be the last one to ever arrive in the Glade and that the end is nearly coming someday soon. She then falls into a deep coma. After the arrival of Teresa, the boys blame Thomas for everything abnormal going on, saying everything is all his fault. In the end, the boys realize that they are against a force called WICKED. The boys believe that they are being put through a series of trials to find the best boys for the job WICKED have planned for them. They realize that the Maze is to be solved. People called Runners; they have studied the maze for the two years, running around their section of the maze each day avoiding the Grievers. Every day the Runners go into the maze and look for changes in the maze. They come back to the Glade and sketch the day's changes. Teresa has a telepathic connection with Thomas and tells him that WICKED is good, and that the maze is a code, and meant to be solved. Thomas is completely scared to tell the others about their Gift, and other people, who have gone through the Changing, claim to have seen Thomas before. In an effort to bring memories back about whom Thomas really is and why the Gladers are there, Thomas purposefully gets stung by one of the Grievers. During the Changing Thomas understands why they are there. He and the girl Teresa both helped design the maze, and Thomas finally understands how to escape the Maze. He gets all of the sketches of the maps of the Maze and stacks them over each other for each day and for each section of the Maze that day on wax paper.
i didnt really like this book buit it is what it is
16 year old Thomas is the new boy at The Glade. He has no memory of how he got there or of his past. But he is not the only one. Once he gets to The Glade, he discovers that every boy there went through the same thing and that they also have no memory of their past. Thomas's arrival was not surprising (they get a new boy every 30 days) but what was truly unexpected was the arrival of another new kid the next day. This new kid is a girl. The only girl they've gotten ever. But what is truly frightning is what the girl says and the note she is carrying. She says that the ending is near then goes into a coma. The note in her hand says that she is the last new kid. Ever!
Notices
Add a NoticeFrightening or Intense Scenes: suspense but its awesome
Violence: violence some major but to tell the truth it was entertaining
Violence: disturbing scenes, and lots of blood near the end :)
Frightening or Intense Scenes: There were a few creepy/intense scenes, but I still loved the book!!!
Violence: I was surprised about the amount of violence in this novel, but I enjoyed the story regardless.
Violence: It has quite a bit of violence that makes you feel uneasy
Other: There are also disturbing scenes in this book they can make you feel uneasy and uncomfortable.
Violence: This book has a lot of violence. For those who are squirmy about that kind of stuff I wouldn't recommend this book to. The author offers a lot of description in that aspect of the book which can make it worse at times.
Sexual Content: this title contains a lot of sexual content.
Violence: This title contains Violence.
Quotes
Add a Quote"Gotta solve the buggin maze".
“It was you and me, Tom. We did this to them. To us.”
great and outstanding
"WICKED is good."
Shuck face....
An idea had just occurred to him. A horrible, terrible, awful idea. The worst idea in the history of horrible, terrible, awful ideas. - Chapter 45 page 11 of 13
You are the shuckiest shuck faced shuck in the world!
I've been shucked and gone to heaven.
Videos
Add a Video
Book Trailer for The Maze Runner
Young Park Ridge Library patrons act out a scene from The Maze Runner
Maze Runner Trailer
James Dashner's thrilling novel, THE MAZE RUNNER gets star treatment in Brighton Linge's dazzling video, a finalist in the Kirkus 2009 Book Video Awards, sponsored by Random House Children's Books and co-hosted by BN.com. Linge is a fourth-year cinematography major at University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
Find it at VPL
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Comment
Add a CommentThomas wakes up in an elevator, which takes him up he the ‘glade’. He has no memory of his past other than his first name. The boys who live in the glade (gladers) are surprised when he is delivered because usually only one person is delivered every month, and this month’s new glader was already delivered. Then, a girl in a coma is delivered and everything in the maze stops working normally. The glade is surrounded by a giant maze, which changes every day. Thomas for some reason has a sense that he is ment to be a 'runner', someone who explores the maze and tries to find the way out. Maze Runner was a very good book, and has 2 sequils (Scorch Trials and Death Cure) and a prequil (Kill Order).
This is such a good book! It has great action, suspense, and an intriguing plot line.
It is a good book. There is some parts are boing but other than that I love it. It was exciting and stressful! I couldn't stop reading in the middle to the end. I love the characters in that book! Its awesome.
I loved, loved, LOVED this book! Sooooo good! James Dashner did a fantastic job at portraying Thomas's thoughts and actions. I totally agree with dp50268n; that Thomas is a realistic character and how well he represents a teenaged boy. I rate this book a 10000000000000000 out of 10! Yep, this was a great dystopian book with an incredibly inventive story line!
This book is the best book EVER!!!! It may not be exiting at first, but it gets a whole lot better. Once your done this book, then read the next one which is the ScorchTrials. Then read the Death Cure and last of all The Kill Order. You really need to read this series (eventhough they can get quite violent) because James Dashner is the BEST AUTHOR EVER!!!!!!!
Man............. James Dashner did a fantastic job on this wonderful book waytago Mr.dashner
May not be interesting at first, but keep on reading. It's an AWESOME book. Read the next 2 books as well: The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure. AWESOME series.
I had trouble getting into this book. I don't know why; the idea was good behind it. Maybe because the main character was a teenage boy and I am so used to young females ie.: Twilight, Hush Hush, The Hunger Games. Also, it was rather violent and cruel. One day I will read the next 2 books, but I will probably have to force myself to do so.
Great book! *SPOILER* CHUCK NOOOOO!!!!! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE!!!!!
I'm a huge reader of teen dystopian novels, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Even though it’s a bit too violent for my taste, I’m looking forward to reading The Scorch Trials.