The Maze Runner 2/2

Warning! This Summary Contains Huge Spoilers! Don't Read If You Don't Want to Ruin the Book! -Carter

Through and Through, I absolutely loved the first book of the series. From my friends, I know that there is three more following "The Maze Runner." I was very contempt with the ending of it, but I guess my gut told me to start reading the preview in the back of the book for book two. Wow, great job gut, you just made it so I'm stuck on the second book as well as a few other series. From reading the small preview, it left me feeling like I had just started the first book all over again, seeing how it tore me out of the maze and into the real world which is plagued by a disease called the flare. And just when I had been getting used to the gladers language! Now, there's just a bunch of new klunk that I have to learn. Seeing as I didn't stop at the ending of book one, I think I would have been just fine without reading the other books if I hadn't read that little beginning chapter. I mean, at the end of book one, it left all of the gladers who survived the greiver attack in a hospital sort of thing, safe from the maze and its many terrors. All and all, I absolutely loved the ending, and am looking forward to finding a copy of the second book and seeing what I just got into.

Putting my trauma cap on, I look at the glade as a place where every character finds an odd form of mortal terror and comfort. Looking at all of the gladers experiences, it seems to me that if I was a glader, I would feel safe in the homestead. Until right about the time where the walls stop closing, the greivers roam freely, and no new supplies are sent to the gladers. At that point, if I were a glader, I would have klunked my pants or worse. With plenty of trauma before that moment, I'm very happy that the author made it so the main characters all were at varying levels of stress. Newt, for instance, was always on the brink of post traumatic stress seeing that the guy was still recovering from his leg injury in the maze that almost cost himself his life. But when needed, Newt stepped up in the story to make sure that the glade didn't go into complete chaos. I guess I'll remember Newt as the kid who points out the complete obvious things that go on through the glade.

"The Walls you Shuck! The doors! They Aren't closing!" -Newt

I guess I can see the dystopia being a utopia for the scientists at WICKED. But if you look at it, the only thing they have that the gladers don't is relative safety. Even they aren't completely safe, seeing as they are living in a world with crazy, insane people who want to die because the disease literally is that bad. Also, some the scientists seem a little bit on the insane side, either that, or they're completely brilliant. I mean, seriously, putting kids into a death trap to try and save humanity is all they come up with? Really? Although, I seriously wouldn't want to be them when the gladers come down, especially since Minho is a hothead who will blow a socket and rage like no one ever did.

"Thomas took a step backward, seeing the others doing the same. A deathly silence sucked the life out of the room as every last glader stared at row of windows, at the row of observers. One of them looked down to scribble something onto his clipboard." - Thomas's thoughts.

The greatest thing about the series was that I actually felt a connection to all of the main/side characters, even Frypan, the cook who is only mentioned, like, twice! That was a great thing, until I was just about finished with the book, low and behold, Thomas, Chuck, and the other gladers come out of the maze only to find the creators have one last variable waiting. The death of Thomas! BUT NO! Chuck just has to sacrifice himself for Thomas. He may be the man character, but I really don't care what happens to Thomas since Chuck is the most lovable, coolest side character that I have ever possibly read about. Salute to Chuck, my favorite character in the entire series. ;(

"With unexpected speed, he threw the knife at Thomas... Then inexplicably, Chuck was there, diving in front of him..." (More sappy death scene stuff here, because if I were to list the entire quote, it would take up a ton of room.) "Thomas Stared at his dead friend. Chuck, the symbol that had driven him to get out of the dreaded maze. The one person Thomas had felt a love like no other for. Thomas's body entire body shuddered. And then something changed inside him. Thomas snapped, he completely snapped. Throwing himself at Gally, he slammed the boy with his fists where ever he could. He din't stop, letting out all of the pent up anger, stress, and panic from his entire experience in the maze. He kept going until Newt and Minho tore him from the limp body of Gally."

At least Gally got what was coming to him. :)