“If you ain’t scared… you ain’t human.”
– James Dashner, The Maze Runner
Picking up this book I have to say was mainly driven by the fact that they were turning it into a movie and the lead was cast as Dylan O’Brien (for those of you who don’t know I am a little obsessed with him like in a bad way. We can blame Teen Wolf for this). After reading the synopsis I was really intrigued and interested to see how this great idea and concept would unfold. This book gave off the feeling of a high tech, dystopian Lord of the Flies. I had high hopes for this book and really wanted to love it. There was this mystery throughout a good portion of the book.
You are left in the dark and just as confused as Thomas when he first arrives in the Box. The use of slang was irritating and annoying and almost made me stop reading the book. I pushed through and the ending really caught my attention and through me for a loop that I was not expecting. I felt the book was a slow read and took me awhile to actually get through. At times I was confused and annoyed with the repetition of sentences (literally there were sentences repeated multiple times within a very short time span). I felt like there could have been a lot more action throughout the story, but it was not delivered.
This is one of the book adaptations that I feel like I might actually like more than the book itself. (I know this is a very bold statement to make as a book lover) I feel like the mystery and action will be more easily conveyed via the big screen. After reading this I was not sure I was going to continue on with the series, but I do have the second book so I am currently trying to read it right now. Whether I finish the complete trilogy or not will depend on my thoughts of The Scorch Trails, but I already know I have no plans to read The Kill Order (the prequel)
7 comments
I am so glad to hear that the slang turned you off just about as much as it did me. Serious eye rolling took place whilst reading this. I didn’t love this book but I already owned the complete series, which I purchased all at once. Mistake. The series, in my opinion, didn’t get better. I believe the movies will be better, which I rarely say.
I know I bought the second one at the same time as the first and wish I didn’t. But since I have it I figured I would try reading it even though I am only like 30 pages in and not sure about it. I just have this strong drive to not give up on a book. I have a feeling I won’t be reading the last one though. I can’t wait for the movie (just because of Dylan O’Brien!!!)
I was really disappointed in this book after hearing such amazing things about it. While the ending was intriguing, I still haven’t picked up the second book after reading this one over a year ago. And, yes the slang was awful!!
Great review and particularly with many of the new dystopian ya novels, I feel that the movie sometimes is better so you’re not alone there.