The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner begins with Thomas being in a box showing up to an unknown place called the Glade, with a bunch of other boys. Thomas cannot remember anything about his former life except for his name. He has no idea what is taking place in the place he woke up in, and is trying to get answers from the other boys.  The Glade is surrounded by a maze, with deadly creatures that the boys have to outrun.

Things begin to change in the Glade, and the unexpected happens, a girl shows up in the box. They have never had a girl in the Glade before.  Events unfold into a fight or die scenario for the boys, and they have to find a way out of the Glade and the Maze once and for all.

The Maze Runner did not sound like a book that I thought I would enjoy. It was a choice for me because I had it available to me because of my stepson. I read it, and I did enjoy the characters in the story. Of course I want to know what happens, but I would be all right with my stepson, who has read the rest of the series, just telling me. It was not a series that I was sucked into; I do not have the urge to read the rest of the series.

James Dashner created quite a character with Thomas that boys and girls could relate to, and admire. I really liked Thomas; he was a teenager that had compassion. The choices he made were choices that were selfless. He chose to try and save Alby and Minho, knowing that he would be left out in the maze all night long with a chance that he too would die. He was also a leader, which I enjoyed because although the boys who were in the maze before him felt that they were leaders, but they were living a complacent life just trying to survive day to day. Thomas came and stirred things up, wanting to survive and get back “home” wherever that was.

The novel has a strong male character, which can teach the reader to never give up, and fight for what you want. Thomas is also brave, and has a compassion for the other boys that is definitely a strong character trait for students today.

I would not use this novel with my third grade class, but I could see the novel being used in 7^h grade and above. I would teach this novel either whole group or small group depending on my students for that year. The Maze Runner could be used to teach character traits to students. I feel that there is a lot of depth to some of the characters, and a lot of conflict. The students could analyze internal and external conflicts as well.  I would also use the novel to set discussions with the students, there are a lot of different parts of the story that the students could discussion, and have small debates on.

The Maze Runner is a good book, and if I taught 7^th grade or above, I would recommend it students to read, but it was not my favorite book nor did I love it.