👶👶👶👶 The Maze Runner, by James Dashner

Wow! This book was by far one of the most wildly imaginative dystopian novels I have ever read! James Dashner is certainly gifted in creating sensational settings with bizarre plot lines and original characters. I was fully able to envision the elaborate landscape he created because his descriptions were meticulous. Considering the setting is unfathomably bizarre, this was no small feat! 

The only reason I rated it four stars is that I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters, and that may well be because it was written in the third person limited omniscient. So, though Dashner was able to bring an entire world of characters to life (which certainly has its benefits), I never really had the opportunity to grow close to any one character.

The novel kept me interested throughout, and I was initially thrilled that I could let my daughter read it because the violence didn’t seem nearly as bad as some of the other dystopians I’ve read. Alas, my feelings changed during the last quarter of the book, when the violence was certainly abundant! It would be so grand to have a dystopian series as well-written as these, without the abhorrent violence. Sadly, I suppose it wouldn’t market as well in this day and age… sigh…

Read 10/2/14