Book Review--The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I have to say that I enjoyed The Maze Runner more than The Scorch Trials. That being said, I did really enjoy Scorch Trials. The story is engaging and curious and scary. There's a different kind of danger in this book. Both books I'd place in the YA genre, definitely not for middle grade readers, but for some reason I'd place Scorch a little higher than Maze as far as age appropriateness. Probably because of the type of violence as opposed to the amount. Maze had its fair share of violence, but most of it was with the Grievers (mechanical evil things that go after the boys). In Scorch, the violence, for the most part, is a result of people having gone mad or afraid of going mad or starving.

I've never been a teenage boy. This makes it a little hard for me to know if the dialog is true to life. There are times where I just feel like what's being said isn't real enough for me. But then I think back to the young teenage boys I've known and think, maybe it is accurate and they are just that weird and lame sometimes.

I loved the twists in the story. Dashner did a great job keeping us (I read this with Nathan) on our toes. I still don't know what I think about Teresa.

My one big beef with the story would be the same beef I had with Maze--too many slang words. I just don't think that realistically they would use them that often. I don't use slang that much, but maybe other people do and so the number of times the characters use their slang doesn't bother them. But it bugs me.

Other than that, I really enjoyed it and I can't wait for the third book so I can find out what the *shuck* is going on.



View all my reviews

Book Review: The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I first heard of this book about three years ago. This was way before it had been published and still had a lot of editing needed. I met James and he told me a little of the idea behind the book (a little less than what's on the back of the book) and I was intrigued. The last time I saw him he told me it was being published and would come out Fall of 2009. I didn't think I could wait and wanted to ask for an advanced reader copy.

I bought it almost as soon as it came out, but had to wait to read it because I was reading a book for book club and wanted to give my full attention to my friend's book. As soon as I was finished with the book club book I started on Maze Runner.

I think James did a great job. The idea behind the book, which is the first in a trilogy, is interesting, the way he developed is amazing. The characters remind me of characters in The Outsiders, a group of teenage boys who have their own language, slang. The boys have created a lot of their own slang that gets used frequently. Having their own words seems to help bring them solidarity.

The story itself is terrifying and the ending, of course, left me wanting more. It is, after all, the first in a trilogy. I found myself ignoring my kids all day and almost fed my family hot dogs without the buns because I had such a hard time putting the book down. In the end I had to stay up until almost 1AM finishing it.

My only complaints would be 1) the characters do sound very similar to one another. Occasionally I couldn't tell who was speaking because their language was so similar. The main character stuck out from the others, but among the rest of the boys I did have a hard time. However, I understood that all the boys were in exactly the same situation, with exactly the same background, not remembering anything before showing up in the maze and some of them being there for over two years, and so they would sound very similar because of that.
2) I have to wait for the next book!

All in all I really loved this book. It was scary, emotional, and fun. Great job, Dashner!

View all my reviews >>