"The Maze Runner" by James Dashner

379 pages

Picture this: you wake up one day not knowing where you are and you can't remember anything about yourself except your first name. You're in a bizarre enclosed structure with a jail, a graveyard, a slaughterhouse, living quarters, and gardens. It's called the Glade, and there are no adults around, only adolescent boys. And here's the kicker: there's no way out. Outside the Glade is the Maze, and every day some of the kids -- the Runners -- venture into the labyrinth, trying to map the pattern of walls in an attempt to find an exit from this hellish place. And, oh yeah, those walls shift every night. So far, no one has figured it out. On top of all this, the vicious Grievers--part animal, part mechanical killing machines--roam the Maze at night, killing or maiming anyone unfortunate enough to get in their path.

Thomas is the newest arrival to the Glade. As soon as he arrives, weird things start happening, and the others grow suspicious of him. Though the Maze seems somehow familiar to Thomas, he's can't put it all together. He senses that his missing memories are the key to figuring out how to escape the Maze before time runs out.

This story sucked me in right away. The author does a really good job of creating the feeling of fear and frustration that Thomas feels as he's thrust into this weird situation. Everything is so bizarre that I didn't want to stop reading because I was so curious about what was going on. The quick pace kept me on my toes the whole time. As much as I got into the story, I was sort of disappointed with the ending. To avoid giving too much away, I'll just say that I feel like some things don't really make sense and are a little too convenient. Of course, this is the first of a series (the second book is already out and the third is supposed to come out on October 12), so everything might make more sense later. One thing is certain: this series is going to make me think about a lot of things (particularly the value of the individual versus the good of society) and I always like that.